Science Magic
by Bohogal1998
Summary: Someone's killing parents of military school kids, while the kids watch on facetime. It'll take brains AND brawns to solve this case. NCIS and the BAU team up to solve the case before the killer strikes again. During the case,two unique nerds meet and form an instant mutual dislike. Will their animosity turn Into love? Can differences be resolved to solve the case? Read to see.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey! This is my first crossover! NCIS and Criminal minds! I hope ya'll enjoy it! Please read AND review! Constructive reviews, whether negative or positive**

**help me be a better writer. Please be sure to keep your reviews kind and constructive and pertaining to my writing. NO Character BASHING of ANY kind**

**will be allowed or accepted. I had to have to say this, but I have gotten and seen too many reviews on other stories, both mine and others, that are only there to hate on certain characters, or hurt and not help. Remember, It's ALWAYS better to be kind. A BIG thanks to my beta reader, misspatchesmom for editing my work. You're the best! Now on with the story!**

It was a stormy night in October at Ulysses S Grant Military School.

In the boys' dorm, two young men in their early teens were getting ready for bed when a cellphone rang. It belonged to Cadet Cooper Jackson. The phone was out of his reach, so he appealed to his friend,

"Hey, Joe, I gotta get that. My mom is supposed to call about books for school. Can ya toss it to me?" Cadet Joseph Stanton picked up the phone from the desk and tossed it to his friend. Cooper looked at the screen, and then answered.

"Hey Mom, I...

"Your mommy can't come to the phone right now. Turn on your facetime. There's something you should see," said a creepy voice on the other end. Joseph saw his friend's face begin to pale as he did what he was told.

"Hey Coop! You ok? What's happening?" the teenager asked with concern. He received no reply.

Instead, the other boy stood frozen and pale, staring at the phone as he said hoarsely, "M-mom?" Looking at the screen, Cooper could see that his mom was all tied up. There were bruises all over her face and blood running down her cheek from a gash in her forehead.

"It'll be ok, sweetie. Just do what the man says, and he won't hurt us."

"Where's Dad?" Cooper choked out. Joseph put a hand on his friend's shoulder. He knew he should go get help, but he was terrified of what the man might do if he brought anyone in the room. Cooper listened as his mom replied, shakily,

"He's out of town on business, Cooper. He's fine. But you have to do what you're told."

"What? Who are you?! What do you want?!" Cooper asked, directing his question to the strange man.

"Never mind who I am! Tell your mom how you really feel about military school."

Cooper was confused; "W-what do you mean?"

"Just what I said. Tell your mommy how much you hate military school and that you hate her for sending you away!"

"No! I won't say that! I love my mom! I like it here at school!"

"Quit lying, ya little maggot! No kid actually likes military school. It's a place where parents send their kids when they don't want them around anymore!"

"That's not true! I love my son! So much that I want him to have the best education possible.

"I love you, Mom." sobbed Cooper. Joseph stood next to him with tears running down his own face, frozen in fear.

"I know sweetie."

"SHUT UP! STOP THE LIES!"

At that, Joseph took off running down the hall to find help. He couldn't stand and watch anymore. Cooper kept trying to get the evil man to let his mom go. He refused to give in to the man's threats. He would NEVER say that he hated his mom.

The psychotic man wielded a gun and said sinisterly, "Well, you may not believe your mom sent you away to get rid of you, but I know the truth. She deserves to die! And I'm gonna make sure she gets what she deserves!"

"NOOOO! LEAVE HER ALONE, YOU MONSTER! MOOOM!" Cooper screamed.

His mother, who also had tears streaming down her face, cried out, "I love you, Cooper! I'm so sorry. Tell Dad how much I love him and that I'm sorry."

Cooper screamed through his sobs, "NOO! MOOOM! I LOVE YOU! DON'T YOU TOUCH HER, YOU PSYCHO!" Then, he could do nothing but stand there helplessly as the evil man, whom he had never seen before, shot his mother before his eyes. Cooper fell to the ground sobbing, and that's how Joseph and the Marine guards found him when they returned.

~FBI~

In Quantico, SSA Aaron Hotchner was headed to the roundtable room. They had just gotten an extremely strange case handed to them. He could tell already that it was going to be a tough one. He hoped the team was ready for it. It had only been a few months since Emily Prentiss had returned after faking her death to escape Ian Doyle. JJ had been in on the plan, but the others, especially Spencer Reid and Derek Morgan had felt betrayed. The team had only recently begun to reconnect as a family. When he reached the roundtable room, the others were already gathered. As Hotch handed out the files, TA Penelope Garcia debriefed the team.

"Ok, people, this case is the definition of sick. Someone has been going around killing one or both parents of military school students, while he facetimes the kids and forces them to watch helplessly on the screen."

"Did any of the kids see the UNSUB's face?" Rossi asked..

"From what we've been told, they were all in shock and unable to think coherently." Dr. Spencer Reid, in usual Reid form, spoke up. "You know, studies have shown that children who face a trauma suppress the memories as a defense. If we can do a cognitive interview with each child, maybe they can still tell us what happened and give us clues to catch the UNSUB."

Hotch began to assign tasks; "Emily, JJ, Morgan, Rossi, I want you to interview the students. Garcia, I need you to look into these families. Find out if they had any connection other than sending their kids to military school. Strauss informed me that we will be working with NCIS on this one. Reid and I will greet them when they arrive."

"NCIS? Have we ever worked with them, Hotch?" Morgan questioned his boss.

Hotch shook his head. "We haven't, but Tobias Fornell and his team have worked with the MCRT multiple times. Working with the FBI is nothing new to Agent Gibbs and his team."

"Wait, Jethro Gibbs?" Rossi asked.

"That's right." Hotch replied.

Rossi chuckled. "We were in the same unit in the Marines. If he's anything like he was back then, this will be a very interesting experience."

~NCIS~

Meanwhile, at NCIS headquarters, Director Leon Vance was having his own conversation with Gibbs.

"There have been multiple deaths of parents who have kids in military school. It's beginning to look like the work of the serial killer. I've talked to Section Chief Erin Strauss over at FBI headquarters. She and I agreed that your team will work with her best team on this case."

"That's not Tobias's section chief." Gibbs observed.

"No, she is not. Erin's the Section Chief heading up the Behavioral Analysis Unit." was the reply.

"David Rossi's team?" Gibbs asked. Vance nodded.

"Well, he's not team lead anymore, but that's him. Do you two know each other?"

Gibbs looked thoughtful as he replied, "Yeah. We were in the Marines together. I'd heard he'd come out of retirement a few years back. But I hadn't gotten around to reconnecting."

"Well, now's your chance." Vance responded with a small smile. Then he dismissed Gibbs who headed out to gather his team. Tony, McGee, and Ziva were all working at their desks, but looked up when they saw their boss approach.

"Grab your gear! We're going to FBI headquarters."

Tony looked at Gibbs curiously. "Fornell got a case for us, Boss?"

Gibbs shook his head. "Nope! We're headed to the BAU." Ziva, McGee, and Tony all looked at each other, but followed their boss without another word. The BAU? This was gonna be an interesting case.

**Hope you enjoyed the first chapter! Any characters that you didn't see in this chapter will appear in the next. **

**Hopefully that will be up on Monday sometime,**

**I will be on vacation though, so I'm not sure how much writing and posting time I will have. Thanks for reading! **

**Any reviews, as long as kind and constructive**

**are MUCH appreciated.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey, Guys. Here is chapter two. Hope you enjoy. reviews are much appreciated.**

**T the guest reviewer who asked me not to put Abby and Reid together. I don't see it as a cougar. The actorsare actually only 11 years apart. ****, but Reid is thirty during the time of this story. No one really knows how old Abby is, but it's common assumption that she is**

**several years younger than the actress who plays her. But even so, my brother is 11 and a half years younger than my sister in law and they have a wonderful**

**marriage. But I appreciate your review, and I will understand if you don't wish to continue reading. I hope you will give it a little chance though.**

**Ok, now, on with the story.**

~BAU~

Back at the BAU, Hotch was on his way back from the men's room, when he ran into Tobias Fornell in the hall.

"Agent Hotchner." the older man acknowledged.

"Agent Fornell." was the reply.

Fornell continued, "I hear your team is working with Jethro Gibbs' team at NCIS."

"You heard correctly. Potential serial killer who is killing parents of military school students. Our bosses have decided to make this a join investigation," answered Hotch. Fornell scoffed.

"What it's going to be is a major headache for your team and a lack of sleep for his. Gibbs'll have everyone on triple overtime until this case is solved. He's like a damned dog after a bone whenever there's a high risk case like this. I'm just glad he's gonna be a pain in someone else's rear for once."

Hotch smirked and said, "Thanks for the warning. I'll watch my back."

"You do that. Good luck." Fornell replied as he walked away. Hotch watched as the other man headed purposefully down the hall. Then he continued towards the BAU bullpen. He hadn't been there long when Gibbs and his team arrived. Hotch and Reid immediately went to greet them.

"I'm agent Aaron Hotchner, and this is Dr Spencer Reid." Reid waved, and then Gibbs introduced his team.

After that, Hotch said,"Agents Rossi, Jarreau, Prentiss, and Morgan are interviewing the students. You'll be able to meet them later. But I heard you already know Agent Rossi, Agent Gibbs."

"I do. We were in the Marines together." Before anyone could question further, Hotch got a call.

"Hotchner." He answered. He went off to a corner to answer the call. When he returned, he was grim.

"There's been another killing. The father of a young girl that goes to Joan of Arc Military School for Girls."

"What about the mother?" asked Ziva. Hotch sighed.

"He was a single father. I wasn't given any more details than that."

Gibbs responded, "I'd like my people to do the autopsy."

"I have no problem with that." agreed Hotch.

"How do you feel about my forensics specialist going over the evidence already gathered?" asked Gibbs. It was obvious by his tone it was more of a demand than a request. But that didn't matter to Hotch.

"A fresh set of eyes would probably be helpful."

"Good. McGee, once we get the evidence, take it back to Abby." Just then his phone rang and he answered it. While he was taking the call, Reid asked McGee,

"Is your forensics specialist, Ms. Abigail Sciuto?"

"Well she hates to be called Abigail, but yes, she's our forensics expert."

"I've read her articles. I really admire her work. I'd love to meet her and discuss scientific theories." McGee smiled and responded, "Well, Abby could go on for hours about that subject. She's a little...unusual, but she's great once you get to know her. She's an amazing friend. She'd do anything for the people she loves."

"I work with one of those, as well." Reid replied. His phone pinged and he looked at the screen.

"Speaking of which, this is her now. She must have found something." Reid read the text and saw that it was asking them to come down to the lair right away.

Hotch came in a moment later and informed the others, "That was Prentiss. She and JJ finished their interview. I told them to meet your team at the crime scene in an hour. Anderson will take Agent Mcgee down to the lab to get the evidence."

"Ducky and Palmer are on their way now. I'll send DiNozzo and Ziva down to meet them.

"Uh, Hotch, Garcia wants us all in her computer room right away." Reid told his boss.

"Ok. Let's head down there." Hotch said. He led the way to the lair and knocked.

"Enter, mere mortal." Hotch heard Garcia's voice call out through the door. Shaking his head at the response, Hotch opened the door and they all headed in.

After the introductions, Hotch asked, "Garcia, have you found anything on the families yet?"

Garcia looked up at him and said, "I did find something quite interesting. The dads of the military school children, all of them, attended the same military school when they were boys. And it is the same military school that the kids are attending now."

"Why wasn't the connection made before now?" Hotch asked.

"Glad you asked, Bossman. The reason it wasn't connected right away is because the kids all attend different military schools. The first two girls, Samantha Russell and Jessica Harding, attend all girls schools. Samantha attends Pinecrest Military School for girls and Jessica attends Elm Haven Military School for girls, and you know about Hannah Coulter. Cooper Jackson was the second boy at Grant Military School to have parents who were killed. He enrolled in the school after the situation with the other boy happened. When it happened to Cooper as well, the staff figured out that it might not have been a coincidence"

"Rule thirty-nine." Ziva muttered, but Reid heard her.

"Rule Thirty-nine?"

Gibbs was the one to respond. "I have a list of rules to live by. I've taught them to my team."

"Rule thirty-nine is 'There are no coincidences.'" Tony added.

"Well, these murders were definitely not coincidences. Every single attack was equally icky, however." Garcia said, making a face. Hotch thanked her for the information and the group left. As they walked down the hall, Ziva asked Tony in a low voice,

"Does Ms. Garcia not remind you of somebody?"

"Come to think of it, yeah. She's Abby only with a lot more color." Tony observed.

Ziva smirked and nodded. "Exactly my observation."

When the group reached the bull pen, They met Rossi and Morgan, who had just arrived.

"Gibbs! Good to see you, my friend." Rossi exclaimed. Everyone stared in shock as the two men shared a manly hug.

Pulling away, Gibbs responded, "It's been a while, Dave. How've you been? Working on a new book yet?"

"I'm always working on ideas. Nothing ready for publication yet, though."

"So you two were in the Marines together? Did you fight in one of the wars?" McGee asked.

"Oh, no. Dave was in Vietnam and I was in Desert Storm."

"Then how'd you two meet?" Morgan asked in confusion.

"I was Gibbs' training officer when he first enlisted." Rossi explained.

"It was right before he founded the BAU. I was one of his last trainees."

"Wow! That's incredible." Tony mused. Then Gibbs said,

"Time to get back to work. Ziver, DiNozzo, crime scene, McGee, evidence. Agent Hotchner and I are gonna interview the latest victim's family." Everyone headed to do as asked.

~Crime scene~

When Tony and Ziva arrived at the crime scene, they immediately found Ducky and Palmer loading the body into the autopsy van.

"So what's the diagnosis, Duckman?" asked Tony.

"Well, this poor man almost definitely died in the same manner as the others. However, I can't tell you much more than that until we have completed the autopsy. The BAU agents are inside. Why don't you go in and see how you can help them." was the reply.

Tony and Ziva nodded and Ziva said, "Thanks Ducky." Then the two went in and found JJ and Emily. They introduced themselves and then Tony asked, "What've you found so far?"

"Well, we've dusted for prints, and found a trail of blood that makes it appear as if the body was dragged several feet to where we found it." Emily informed them. "And we've bagged a few pieces of evidence, but you guys are welcome to check to see if we missed anything."

"Alright." Ziva agreed, and she and Tony got to work.

~NCIS~

Meanwhile, McGee had gathered the other evidence and was now heading into Abby's lab.

"Abs?" he called out.

"In here, Timmy." Abby's voice rang out from her office.

McGee put the evidence on a table. Then he went over to her and handed her a CAF-POW, saying,

"Gibbs got the evidence from the BAU. He wants you to go over it to see if their people missed anything.

"Well you know I'm always up for a good evidence exam."

"There was another killing, so more evidence is on the way. Do you need any help?" McGee asked.

"No. Thank you, Timmy, but I think I can handle this. I'll let you know if that changes." Abby replied. McGee accepted the hug she offered and said,

"I'll just head back to FBI headquarters then. See ya later, Abby."

"Bye!" Abby called after him, as he headed out the door.

~BAU~

After Emily, JJ, Tony, and Ziva were finished at the crime scene, JJ called Hotch who ordered them back to the BAU. They were to turn over the evidence to Reid to take over to Abby. The rest of them were supposed to work on paperwork until Hotch and Gibbs returned from the interview. As Reid prepared to leave

"You should be forewarned. Abby enjoys playing heavy metal and techno music in her lab. **Very loudly**. You may want to plug up your ears."

"This is your big chance to meet our favorite Goth scientist, Dr. Reid. You have to be prepared. She sleeps in a coffin and likes death metal. That's just who she is. But we still love her. You'll probably get along great." Tony said with his usual DiNozzo mischievous grin. He would pay big money to see this meeting.

Reid, for his part. gulped nervously as he thought to himself,

_Death metal? What am I getting myself into?_

**So, how do you guys think Abby and Reid will react to each other? What do you think is the UNSUB's motive? Tune in for the next chapter to find out. It**

**will most likely be next week unless I have enough downtime while on vacation this week. Thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello to my loyal readers! I hope you enjoy this chapter! I do appreciate kind but honest reviews. Thanks to those who have left them.**

**Thank you to misspatchesmom for beta reading for me!**

At NCIS headquarters, Reid hesitantly and cautiously approached Abby's lab. Ziva and Tony had been right. The music, if you could call it that, was practically destroying his eardrums and he hadn't even made it all the way into the lab yet. He tentatively called out and received no reply, so he braced himself and walked further inside. He finally spotted Abby at her desk and went up behind her.

"Abby Sciuto?" he asked. Abby jumped about five feet and turned on the profiler with an annoyed look.

"Never sneak up on me like that! You are supposed announce yourself prior to approaching me! Didn't anyone tell you that?" Reid looked uncomfortable as he replied,

"Well, I did call out to you. You just didn't respond," Reid said, simply. Abby cocked her head, and after a moment replied,

"Well, I didn't hear you," grumbled Abby.

"That's not really all that surprising, considering how loudly you were playing your...er...music. You know, statistics have shown that playing music that loud can seriously impair one's ability to hear." Looking at her tattoos, he added, "And tattoos are bad for your blood stream. They are also extremely painful to remove so you'll have to have these for the rest of your life. You might not enjoy them so much at the age of ninety." Abby was beginning to develop a strong dislike to this walking encyclopedia of an interloper.

However instead of responding, she simply asked, "Who are you anyway, and what are you doing in my lab? I've never seen you before. How'd you get down here without an escort?"

"I'm Dr. Spencer Reid from the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the FBI. They sent me over with some evidence. I've read all your work and I wanted to meet you. But how do you concentrate and do such brilliant work when you jangle your brain with all this noise?" Reid replied.

Abby, barely controlling her temper, answered, "Why'd they have you bring me the evidence? Don't you have some brilliant profiling work to do or something?"

"Everyone else is busy in the field or interviewing victims' families. Hotch and Agent Gibbs wanted you to have the evidence right away," was the timid reply.

"Gibbs. That reminds me, how come he didn't tell me he was sending over any evidence?"

"Someone was supposed to give you a heads up before I arrived."

"Well no one did. I'm calling Gibbs." Abby said, looking at the genius warily. Still keeping her eyes locked on him, she took out her phone and found Gibbs' number on speed dial. She shut herself in her office and made the call.

"Gibbs." the man answered after one ring.

Without even a hello, Abby asked, "Gibbs, did you send a Dr. Reid over to my lab with evidence?"

"So, he arrived?" Gibbs asked.

"Yes! He's here now and, he's annoying me! Gibbs, why didn't you call me and give me a heads up you were sending someone from the BAU with the evidence?"

"I got hung up, Abbs. I really need you to get on that evidence. The sooner you take it from him, the sooner he'll be able to get back to us, and the sooner you'll have your lab back to yourself again."

"Ok," the goth huffed. She said good bye to Gibbs who hung up without responding. Then she headed back out and spoke to Reid.

"Thanks for bringing the evidence. I'll get right on it."

"Have you made any headway with the evidence Agent McGee brought over earlier?"

"Yup. But you'll just have to wait till I've gone over all of it. Then I'll call Gibbs with an update. That's how it works over here at NCIS. But I can't work if you keep asking questions, so go back to the BAU and do whatever it is you do there." Abby wave Reid away absently as she got back to work on the evidence. Reid just shrugged and walked out.

~BAU~

On the way back to the BAU, he thought over the entire meeting and wondered what the heck he'd done to make Abby take such an instant dislike to him. She was curt, and wild, and loud, and yes, very strange. Reid hoped someone else would go over next time there was a need to see the forensics specialist in person. When he arrived back in the bullpen of the BAU, the others were already gathered in the round-table room.

"So, Dr. Reid, how was your first meeting with our forensics goddess?" Tony asked.

"Were there sparks?" Morgan asked.

"The only sparks, Morgan, were the ones made by the tool she was using to work on the evidence," Reid retorted. Then, turning to Tony and Ziva, he added, "You two were correct. The music in her lab was extremely loud. But she does get the work completed efficiently."

"Ok. Back to work. How did the interviews go?" Gibbs asked.

"Well, the kids are all devastated, of course," began Emily

"But Hannah was very sure it was a man who killed her father," JJ said.

"Cooper couldn't think of anyone who would want to hurt his mother, but Samantha said that her mom received a threatening phone call one day while Samantha was home for the weekend. It was just a day or so before she died."

"She checked the caller ID and gave us the names of the people who'd called during the time she was at home," Morgan added.

"Good. Reid, I want you and Agent McGee to go talk to half of those people. Morgan and Agent DiNozzo, take the other half," Hotch ordered. The four agents left once Garcia sent the addresses to their phones.

Most of the addresses turned out to be dead ends. When Reid and McGee reached an address on Poplar Street, however, they got a lead. A woman answered the door.

McGee smiled and began politely, "Hello, Ma'am. Sorry to bother you, but we are looking for a Mr. Judd Harris."

"I… I don't know anyone by that name." stammered the woman with fear in her eyes. With that, she shut the door in the agents' faces, leaving McGee and Reid standing on the porch looking at each other wondering what this woman could be hiding.

**Well, somebody's up to no good. Who's the woman protecting? What's she hiding? **

**Will Abby and Reid learn to get along? Find out in the next chapter. Thanks for reading! I'll be back with more on Wednesday.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Well, Our favorite Agents are back! What do you think that lady is hiding? Thanks to those who reviewed last chapter! I really appreciated it! Hope you**

**enjoy this chapter! **

McGee recovered first and tried knocking again. He called out, "Ma'am? It really is important that we talk to Mr. Harris. This is his address, so we know that you know him. We just want to ask him some questions."

"Well, I've got nothing to say to you! If you want me to talk, come back with a warrant!" Harris' friend retorted.

"Ma'am if you could just tell us where Mr. Harris is, we'll ask him what we need to and be on our way," Reid said calmly.

"He ain't here!" was the quick reply.

"Well, do you have any idea when he might return?" McGee asked.

"I don't know. Several days, if he's smart. Now Get off my porch before I report you for harassment!" the woman ordered.

Reid politely responded, "Sorry to have bothered you, ma'am."

"Thank you for your time," added McGee as the two agents turned and left.

On the way back, they came upon a coffee shop. Reid suggested they get coffee for the others. McGee knew the orders for his team and Reid knew the orders for his. Between the two of them, it was a pretty quick stop.

~BAU~

Back at Quantico, everyone was glad to receive their coffees, including Gibbs who, of course, didn't show it. Immediately, the NCIS team leader demanded an update.

"Well, um, almost all of the homes we visited were dead ends." Reid said, nervously. McGee rescued him from Gibbs' stare.

"But we did find someone who knows something, we believe."

"You believe, McGee? You mean you don't know?"

Reid then found his voice, "Well, sir, she slammed the door in our faces as soon as we asked to speak with Judd Harris, and she refused to open it again. She said if we want her to talk we'd have to return with a warrant."

McGee nodded and added, "Then she said that she'd report us for harassment if we didn't get off her porch."

Gibbs groaned and walked off to call Vance. A few moments later, he was back, and told the others, "Director Vance said he'd have a warrant for us within a couple of hours."

"Do we have that long, sir?" Emily asked.

"What if the girlfriend warns him before we can get there?" Before Gibbs could answer, another voice spoke up from the top of the stairs.

"We don't have a choice agents. This is one case we don't wanna lose by failing to go by the book." The entire group looked up, startled, to notice Director Vance standing there with the BAU section chief Erin Strauss.

Strauss added on to what had been said, "There are too many things at stake, here."

"But what about the lives that are at stake, with all due respect, ma'am?" Ziva pushed.

"There has been no reason to believe that the family members are in immediate danger." Strauss replied, coldly.

"What are you doing here, Leon?" Gibbs grumbled.

"I had a strategizing meeting with Chief Strauss. We had just finished the meeting when I received your call, Agent Gibbs." Vance replied, practically daring Gibbs to challenge him. Gibbs glared but didn't respond. A second later, Hotch's cell rang.

After taking the call a few feet away, he came back to the rest of the group and said, "Garcia said that Ms. Sciuto is patched through to her lair. She has some information for us." The NCIS crew looked at Gibbs in surprise. Abby would normally call his cell.

Gibbs noticed the looks and replied simply, "I told her how to connect with TA Garcia in case she had something to show us." With that, he headed off towards the tech room. When the teams arrived, Abby and Garcia were in deep conversation about something most of the others couldn't understand. McGee picked up on some of the lingo and figured out they were talking about hacking. When Abby looked up and saw that the others had arrived, she grinned and turned towards the NCIS team leader.

"Gibbs, Gibbs, Gibbs!"

"What do ya got, Abbs?" asked Gibbs with a small smile.

"Well, I matched the blood samples found in the rug and the finger prints found on the latest victims stuff. One set of prints belonged to our latest victim. And the blood I was given belonged to all the victims. And there was a lot of it from the last crime scene. Like a drinking glass full. Our bad guy really wanted to make sure they were really and truly certifiably dead. Which in my opinion makes him certifiably bonkers, but..."

"Abbs!" Gibbs interrupted Abby's rambling. Abby stopped rambling and looked questioningly at her boss. Patiently, Gibbs continued, "Who did the other set of prints belong to?"

"Glad you asked. They belong to a former private in the Marines. He attended the same military school as Cooper Jackson and the other boy, whose name is Gregory Andrews. He went to school with the parents who were murdered. He currently is residing down the street from the most recent victim."

"Do you have his name, Ms. Sciuto?" Reid asked, slightly impatiently.

"Of course I have a name, Agent Reid. I wouldn't have called if I didn't." Abby replied, rolling her eyes. Then she confirmed the answer to the question that they all thought they by ow knew the answer to.

"The man's name is Judd Harris. He was only in the Marines a year before he was dishonorably discharged. Disrespecting an officer. He got written up for that particular infraction more than once."

"Thanks Abbs. Put another Caf-Pow on my tab. You've earned it."

Abby grinned and responded, "Thanks Gibbs. Hey Penelope, after this case is over, we should hang out!"

"Most definitely! We'll make a plan ASAP!" was Garcia's enthusiastic reply.

"Oh it's totally on. Back to work now. You guys have a bad guy to catch. Peace out!" After Abby had signed off, Rossi turned to Gibbs.

"I think we have more than enough to bring the man in for questioning." Gibbs smirked. Let's go see if he's come home yet. With that the two men walked out, leaving the others looking at each other with amusement.

"Gibbs doesn't waste any time, does he," JJ remarked. Tony just shook his head.

"He knows how do get things done." Reid spoke up, saying, "Is he going to let your director know?"

"Oh, he'll tell him." Ziva smirked.

Morgan got a knowing look on his face as he replied, "He's gonna call him from the car, isn't he." The NCIS agents nodded.

There was a round of chuckles from the BAU agents, before Emily said, "Same way Rossi does things."

"But I'm pretty sure Rossi has other methods, too." Morgan added.

"Oh yes. We are all pretty sure that our Italian Stallion has hooked up with the Dragon Lady."

"Garcia..." Hotch said, warningly. Everyone could tell he was hiding his amusement at his teams' antics, though.

"We haven't been able to find any real proof." JJ lamented.

"All right. I need everyone to get back to work. Agent McGee, I need you to help Garcia dig up anything you can find to make it easier for us to track down Judd Harris.

"Emily and Morgan, I need you to show Judd's picture around the Neighborhoods to see if anyone saw anything suspicious or anyone fitting his description just before the murders. JJ, I need you to keep the press from blowing this up."

"What about me, Hotch?" Reid asked.

"Reid, Agent DiNozzo and Agent David, I need you three to go over the children of the victims again, see if there's a connection we're missing. I mean why did he pick these families of men he attended school with? Is there a connection with the children as well? It can't be only a connection with the school, since the girls all go to different schools." Everyone nodded their understanding and headed off to do as bidden. Reid stopped in to grab another coffee and found JJ in the break room.

She gave him a look and began, "So I noticed some tension between you and the forensics girl from NCIS. Wanna talk about it?"

"Not particularly." Reid replied, shortly.

"Ok." JJ conceded. After a moment of silence, Reid spoke again. He apparently changed his mind about not talking, because he replied to JJ,

"She's completely unprofessional, she's gonna damage her hearing with all that ...music that isn't music that she insists on listening to, she's too stubborn to listen to any advice, and you saw how she couldn't stay on topic for more than five minutes. Her boss had to get her back on track. And she doesn't dress like a government employee should dress."

"Um, Spence, did you tell her all that when you met her?"

"Not the last part. But I did caution her about her tattoos and what her music could do to her hearing." JJ inwardly groaned.

"Spence, No woman likes to be told what to do or how they should live. Especially not by a complete stranger. She was probably creeped out enough when a man she never saw before came into her lab. And then you proceeded to tell her everything that she was doing wrong?"

"I was only trying to point out..."

"I know Spence, but sometimes your mouth just blurts out whatever is in your beautiful brain. You forget to consider the other person's reaction. I know you just get excited about sharing the facts, but you need to allow people to get to know you first. And don't forget that Garcia isn't exactly the queen of professionalism when it comes to wardrobe, either. But that's never stopped her from doing her job or us from loving her and being her friends." Reid sighed.

"I hear what you're saying, Jayge. I should have slowed down and let my brain catch up to my mouth. But she scared me. She made me nervous. She's been published and has made all those discoveries in her career." JJ looked at her friend sympathetically.

"Spence, we all love you here because you've allowed us to get to know you over time. We've seen what a great person you are. You are loving and loyal and courageous. Yes you're a genius, but that's not all there is to you. We love you for being you, not because of your brain. You need to give Abby Sciuto time to see the real you. The whole Spencer Reid package." Reid shook his head.

"If she ever gives me another chance. she most likely won't speak to me after what I said to her." JJ put an arm around his shoulders and smiled.

"You won't know unless you try. I bet you'll get another chance before this case is over." That being said, JJ gave her best friend a squeeze and the two headed back to the bull pen to work.

~NCIS~

Over at NCIS headquarters, Abby was having a similar conversation with one of her friends.

"He's so annoying, Jimmy. I mean the man just waltzed into my lab like he owned the place and started telling me how to live my life! And how to do my job! I mean how rude is that?! Who does he think he is? Dr. Phil? UGH!"

"Well, Abby, He had a legitimate reason to be in the lab." Jimmy began timidly. Abby turned on him with a glare, but Palmer kept going.

"I mean Gibbs did send him with the evidence, right?"

"Whose side are you on?" Abby snapped.

"Yours, of course, Abby. I'm just pointing out that your logic is slightly messed up." Palmer replied. Abby huffed, but had to admit Palmer had a good point. She wasn't ready to give it up entirely yet, though.

"But he still tried to tell me how to live my life and do my job."

"Maybe he was feeling insecure. Maybe since he'd read your work he felt like he had to hold his own in your presence. So he started rambling, like you sometimes do when you get excited. You should give the guy a second chance. Let him get to know you like I do." Abby leaned back against her lab table and looked thoughtful.

"Ok. You're right, Jimmy. If he comes back again or I see him on Skype, I'll give him another chance."

"That's great. And just keep being the Abby we all know and love! Don't let anyone change who you are."

Abby hugged her friend, tightly and replied, "Thanks Jimmy." Palmer grinned.

"You're welcome. I gotta go pick up Breena now. We're going to get our blood tests together so we can get the marriage license."

"Awww. That's so sweet. Tell Breena hi from me." Abby responded with a smile.

"I will. Bye, Abby," was Palmer's reply. Abby waved as her friend headed out the door. Then turned back to what she'd been working on.

~BAU~

Back at the FBI headquarters, no one had had much luck locating Judd Harris. Then, McGee heard major beeping from the computers in Garcia's lair.

"I think we've got something, Penelope!" McGee said excitedly. Garcia quickly clicked and typed and a video came up. When it had been opened McGee and Garcia could only stare in horror. Looking back at them was the beaten, bruised, and terrified face of none other than Hannah Coulter, and surrounding her were the children of the other victims and several younger children yet to be identified. The UNSUB had changed his MO without warning.

**Uh-oh! Looks like the UNSUB has escalated, AND he's got the kids! Will the two teams get to them in time? Tune in next week to find out! Bye!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello to my faithful readers! I hope you enjoy this chapter. I may have gotten slightly carried away. It's a really LONG chapter! A special thanks to **

**misspatchesmom for beta-reading and editing this and all my stories for the past few months. I don't know what I'd do without your help. **

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed, especially to DS2010, who has reviewed every chapter and every chapter of every other one of my stories for over a year.**

**Now on with the story!**

Both the NCIS team and the BAU team gathered in the roundtable room, all talking at once. Finally Gibbs let out a loud whistle, which shut every one up immediately. Hotch was the first to speak up.

"Well, we know the UNSUB has some sort of problem connected with military schools."

Rossi jumped in, saying, "To be specific, his beef with military schools began at Ulysses S. Grant Military School, where he attended along with the dads in each family that he victimized."

"So do we have a motive yet?" JJ asked.

Garcia put the research up on the screen as McGee said, "Garcia and I did some digging and discovered that there was one particular drill sergeant who was infamous for being rougher than necessary on the boys. Apparently, Judd Harris was disciplined quite often."

"But what would that have to do with the men he killed and the children he abducted?" wondered Morgan. Reid answered the question with a statistic as usual. "You know, statistics have shown that overly strict disciplining at home can actually be detrimental to the child, because they learn that power is always right."

"And that has bearing on this case, how?" Tony asked, earning himself a punch in the arm from Ziva for being rude. Reid looked down and then back up at Tony.

"Well, if Judd Harris was attending a military boarding school, that was, in essence, his home for most of the year. He also may have felt abandoned by his family when he was sent away."

"So he didn't feel like he was wanted at all. His teacher had it in for him and his parents got rid of him." Emily said, thoughtfully.

"That still does not explain why he is killing his former class-mates and their spouses." Ziva mused.

"Well, That's where you come in, Ziver. I'm sending you with Agent Prentiss over to speak with Harris's girl. Maybe she'll talk to another female. See if she knows of anything that happened involving the victims during his school days."

"We've noticed that some women tend to be more comfortable with other females." Reid informed anyone who might not know that.

"Well if that's the case with this one, she obviously hasn't met our ex-Mossad Ninja yet." Ziva gave her partner a dark glare.

"Watch it, Tony! This is a conference room. I have ample access to paperclips, and I am not afraid to use them." Tony backed up several stepped and McGee gulped nervously. Ziva then turned to Emily.

"Are you ready to go, Agent Prentiss?" The entire team had been watching the scene unfold with awe and confusion.

At the sound of Ziva's voice though, Emily snapped out of it, and replied, "Of course. I'll drive my car. I know you came over with your team." Ziva agreed and off the two women went.

"Yeah, probably the best plan." McGee said in a low voice once Ziva and Emily were out of earshot.

"What, Probie? You don't think Agent Prentiss can handle Ziva's, uh, get-away car driving skills?"

"Six years in America, and she still drives like a maniac! You got sick, too, Tony, don't deny it!"

"Well, Probie that was months ago. I've learned how to handle it now."

"Yeah right! And don't call me Probie! I've been here for eight years!"

"You'll always be Probie to me, McGeek." Tony responded. Before McGee could answer Tony was startled by a hard SMACK on the back of his head.

"Hey, Boss! What was that for?!" Gibbs smirked.

"Quit picking on McGee. Get back to work. Tony, do some digging into Judd Harris. Where does he work? Does he frequent any hot spot in particular? Local hang-outs? Who are his friends?"

Tony replied, "Well, Boss I've been digging and haven't come up with anything besides what Garcia and McGee found."

"Well, dig deeper!" Gibbs snapped.

"On it, Boss." was the quick reply.

"McGee, go with Dr. Reid. Gather up any evidence from the families of the missing kids and take it to Abby to go through." Reid looked less than thrilled but did as he was ordered. McGee followed the profiler out of the room and they headed to the first house.

Meanwhile, on the way to the Harris house, Emily was trying to strike up a conversation with Ziva.

"So, Mossad, huh? How'd you end up at NCIS?"

"I was originally the Mossad Liaison assigned to NCIS. I was there in that capacity before I became a true agent and an American citizen." Emily was thoughtful for a moment.

"My Mom is an ambassador. All my growing up years, we moved all over the world. Italy was my home for the longest time." There was an even longer pause before Ziva asked softly,

"Agent Prentiss, what was your mother like?"

"You can call me Emily." Emily offered.

Ziva managed a small smile as she replied, "Ziva." Emily nodded and proceeded to answer Ziva's question.

"Well, Ziva, She was usually traveling for work or involved in meetings or throwing political balls." She laughed humorlessly and added, "Didn't leave much room for anything or anyone else, including me. She never had time to be my mom."

Ziva swallowed hard before responding, "I can relate. My...father...is director of Mossad. He trained me himself from the time I was sixteen. I was trained to be a fighting machine and nothing more. I was not allowed to show emotion. My father sees emotions as a sign of weakness."

"Ziva... I... don't know what to say."

"There is nothing to say. It is what it is. What did you do before you joined the BAU?"

"I worked for the CIA, actually. It's common knowledge now. See, last year, I was attacked by an Irish Mafia boss that I was married to while under cover. The story all came unraveled when my team worked hard to rescue me. I faked my death and was put into witness protection for several months. I haven't been back for very long. Only Hotch and JJ knew, so I've had to work hard to gain back the trust of the others. They believed I was dead for seven months." Emily couldn't believe she was opening up so much to a virtual stranger and Ziva was just as surprised at her own openness. However, they felt there was a kindred-ness there that the rest of their families couldn't understand, no matter how hard they tried.

This is why Ziva found herself saying, "I was held hostage almost three years ago. The feeling does not just go away with time. The horror and pain lingers, sometimes always. My team found me after a couple of months. They did not have much help from the higher ups. Tony and McGee were captured trying to rescue me, but Gibbs always had a plan. He was a former Marine sniper, and he shot my captor from several miles away. Tony and McGee managed to get me out of the building, though we were being chased by several of my captor's men. They almost killed us, but suddenly there was a shot and the last man fell down dead. When we looked up, we saw Gibbs with his camouflage on. They got me home safely. My father had left me for dead. He sent no one after me. When I was wrongfully accused of a murder committed while I was on assignment, he sent someone to do damage control. That is when I realized who my true family was. Family is the people who will cross the line for you. Who will go through hell and back to keep you safe and show you that you matter. That you are ...loved."

Emily had to clear her throat before she asked, "So what about your mom?"

Ziva looked down and replied quietly, "My mother died, several years ago."

"I'm sorry. Do you have any siblings?"

"I had a sister and a half brother who were both killed." Ziva answered matter-of-factly. This line of questioning was making her uncomfortable, so she turned the tables. "So how about you? Are you close to your father?"

"Closer than I ever have been to my mother. He showed me the love and concern that she couldn't bring herself to show me. He helped me with my homework and ate meals with me and came to my school functions. He died two years ago."

"Do you have any siblings?"

"No. I'm an only child. I always wished that I did. I'm lucky to have JJ, Morgan and the others as my chosen family. They're my brothers and sisters now."

"Like me and my team at NCIS." Ziva observed. Emily nodded.

"Right. Well, we're here. Let's see what we can get out of the girlfriend." Thus the conversation was dropped, and the bonding moment was gone as they walked up to the door and rang the bell. A lady dressed in yoga clothes answered.

"Can I help you?" she asked, nervously. Emily smiled at the woman.

"I'm Agent Emily Prentiss, from the FBI Behavioral Analysis unit and this is Agent Ziva David from NCIS. We'd like to ask you some questions about Judd Harris."

"I told those other guys, I can't help ya! Judd ain't home and I don't know when he'll be back!"

"Ma'am, We just want to ask you some things to help us find him. Several kids were just kidnapped. We believe your friend is involved. Please tell us what you know. It's important." Emily urged.

"If you are afraid of retaliation, we can protect you." Ziva added.

"He'll kill me if I talk. And my kids. Please just go away!" Emily replied gently

"Ma'am I promise, nothing is going to happen to you or your family. We can help. Please let us help you. Please talk to us."

"You can't stop him! No one can. He's psychotic! Won't listen to reason!"

"Ma'am. We cannot stop him unless you agree to help us. We believe you have information that is pertinent to this case. Please speak with us. These children do not have much time." Ziva pleaded. Between the two of them, Ziva and Emily finally managed to convince the woman to talk.

"What is your name?" Ziva asked.

"Ai-Aida Harris. Judd's my brother. I've been letting him stay with me until he got back on his feet. He wasn't the same after he came back from Iraq. Hasn't been able to hold down a job."

Emily asked the next question. "Has he been more stressed than usual lately?"

"A lot more, actually. He yells at me sometimes for no apparent reason. He's never actually hit me, but he's come close a couple of times."

"Has he ever talked with you about the trouble he had at Grant Military School?" Ziva asked Aida.

"Yes. The other night he got really mad and said it wasn't fair."

"Well, some teacher he had in school that he didn't like just received some award. One of his old classmates was presenting. He called his classmates suck-ups and traitors. Then he said they were bad parents for sending their kids away to what he referred to as 'one of those dungeon prisons' I didn't really understand what he meant. But he was scary mad."

"Aida, do you know of any other place your brother would go?"

"You really think he took those poor kids?"

Ziva put a hand on the woman's arm and replied, "We believe there is a very good possibility that he has abducted them, yes."

"There is one place I can think of. Our uncle used to have this huge storage barn. My brother and I used to play there as kids. When my uncle died, my brother got the land with the barn. My uncle never had any kids of his own."

"Thank you, Aida. It was very brave of you to talk to us. Why don't you come with us back to the BAU? You'll be safe there for a few hours." Aida agreed and she packed up a few things, including her little terrier, Ginger, and headed out. Ginger was left with some neighbors for her own safety, before the three women actually headed to the BAU.

Meanwhile, Reid and McGee had gathered the evidence and were now at NCIS heading towards Abby's lab.

"Abbs?" McGee called out.

"Hey, McGee got some evidence for me?" The Goth called out, then stopped short as she rounded the corner and saw who was with him.

"You!"

"Um, yes. It's me. I was sent with McGee to get the evidence but.. but I also really wanted to talk to you so I could say I'm sorry."

"You're sorry?" asked Abby, incredulously.

"Well, yes. I never should have said that stuff about your music or tattoos. I tend to talk about random facts when I'm nervous. I think your work in the scientific world is brilliant. phenomenal. I was face to face with a legend and I blew it. Will you forgive me?" Abby stood stone-faced for a few moments before breaking into a smile.

"Well, of course I forgive you. I can relate to nervous rambling. Besides, I did research on you too. You seriously graduated at twelve?! That's like totally awesome! Plus all those degrees you have. I was like totally blown away!" Reid managed a small smile. Then he actually looked around the room and was completely in heaven.

"Your Halloween decorations are so cool! I have never been able to find someone who loves Halloween as much as I do!"

"Oh, I decorate for every holiday down here, but I love Halloween the best of all!"

"She sleeps in a coffin, too." McGee said, startling the two nerds.

"Really?" Reid asked. Abby nodded in confirmation. Reid was fascinated.

"And I have a bunch more decorations up at my place! They wouldn't all fit here."

"Wow. That's amazing." Reid said, wide-eyed.

"I hate to interrupt, but Abby, you better get on with that evidence before Gibbs calls, demanding results." McGee cut in.

Abby face-palmed and said, "Oh. Right. Ok. I'll talk to you boys later, then. I'll call when I have results." McGee handed her the Caf Pow he had almost forgotten he had, and he and Reid left. An hour later, Abby had the results.

"Gibbs, Gibbs, Gibbs! The blood doesn't match the military school kids'. There was some DNA that I got of the uniforms and off the other pieces of clothing not a direct match to them on the other clothing, but very close. That clothing was worn by the younger siblings of the students and the kids of the victims. There was also some mud found in the carpet. It was mixed with pieces of straw. I can't really tell where the mud came from although it is in this region."

"That's alright, Abbs. We have that information. Did any of the DNA match Judd Harris'?"

" Nope, but I was able to pull some thumb prints off. Those definitely matched his that we found on the weapon."

"Well, for the kids' sake, I'm glad you didn't find his DNA on them." JJ spoke up.

"Me, too." Abby said, quietly. No one wanted to think about what his DNA on the kids would have meant. They all knew, but no one wanted to dwell on it." Hotch's phone rang and he answered it.

"Hotchner." Then after listening, he turned to the others and said,"Garcia's got something."

"Gotta go, now. Garcia's found something. Thanks Abb!"

"Later, guys!" Abby signed off.

"Now, What's up, Garcia?" Emily asked.

"I just found, the location of that land that Aida and Judd's uncle owned. It's just outside Richmond. I sent the coordinates to your phones. Now go save those poor sweet kids!"

"Thanks Garcia. We'll do our best." Hotch said.

The drive was an hour and nineteen minutes long, normally, but team made it their in just an hour. Once they got there, they saw that there was a lot of land to cover, so the teams split up. Ziva and JJ went one direction, McGee and Reid another, Gibbs and Rossi still another, and Morgan and Tony, and Emily and Hotch all headed in different directions. Ziva and JJ finally found the barn, and quietly sneaked in. Inside they saw a total of sixteen children staring at them with wide terrified eyes. The two agents holstered their guns and JJ said softly,

"Hey. Don't be scared. I'm JJ and this is Ziva. We're here to help. Just come over towards us, and we'll get you out of here. You'll be home with your families really soon."

The kids hesitated but then started towards their rescuers. All of a sudden, a dark figure appeared out of nowhere and grabbed one of the smaller kids. Ziva and JJ both reached for their weapons.

Judd Harris held up a hand and said, "You shoot me, this little one dies! Now do you really want that on your consciences?" The kids all froze in fear looking back and forth between their captor and their rescuers. What would happen to them now?

**Oops! I left a cliffhanger. Sorrynotsorry. stay tuned for the next chapter which will probably go up on Monday. Or Maybe this weekend.**

**Thanks for reading! Catch ya later!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey! I'm back! Hope you enjoy this chapter! It is a really LONG one! There's quite a bit of Tony and Ziva banter in this chapter for any TIVA fans out there. to GuEsT: You are correct that normally, Ziva wouldn't just be that open with someone. But she has opened up to people you wouldn't expect her to, even on the show before. The way I see it is, Emily and Ziva both have amazing instincts and can read people very well. They are trained for that in their jobs. Emily could sense that Ziva had some pain she was trying to bury just like she did. They both went through horrible experiences both in life and on the job. I actually made sure to point out in the last chapter that it was out of character for both of them, but even in real life people sometimes do things they wouldn't normally do. In this chapter, I explain better what drove them to open up like that and that even they are surprised at themselves.. As for the Abby Reid thing, I've already got a plan in that direction for this story and no plans to change that direction, but That's just for this story. Just trying something different. Thanks for all your reviews and I hope you stick with the story and keep reviewing. I am paying attention to your advice. But what I've written so far just works best for this particular story. To all my readers, Thanks for the reviews and for giving this story a chance. Still a lot more to come! Now on with the story!**

JJ and Ziva wisely didn't make any sudden moves. JJ spoke in a low voice to Ziva, "Garcia's looking up some info on Judd's past to see if there's anything we can use to talk him down. One of the guys will probably call one of us soon. Is your cell on vibrate so it doesn't make a loud noise?" Ziva nodded.

"Good. I don't have an angle on him. I can't shoot without maybe hurting one of the kids." JJ informed the ex Mossad officer.

"I think I have a headshot." Ziva whispered to JJ.

"You better be VERY sure. The main concern is getting these kids out of here alive." JJ replied firmly. JJ signaled Ziva to hold off for a moment. Gently, JJ began to talk.

"Mr. Harris? Why did you take these kids?"

"They needed protection! From those awful hell-holes masquerading as boarding schools! Their parents don't care enough to protect them from that life! Just like my parents didn't care enough to get me out. My buddies didn't care enough to rescue me!" Ziva got a text from Tony which was forwarded from Garcia, and quietly read it without lowering her gun. She subtly showed it to JJ who gave an discreet nod.

"Mr. Harris, What Sergeant Brandon Julius did to you was not your fault. You did not deserve to be hurt that way. Beating someone and singling them out is wrong. That isn't the right way to discipline.

Harris had tears in his eyes as he said, "He hurt me and humiliated me and nobody did a damn thing about it!"

"I know. But not all teachers are like that. These kids had a good life, just the way it was. I know you don't really want to hurt them. They're just children. Innocent, just like you were." JJ gently said.

"The boys were supposed to be my friends! My brothers! And they just sat by and let it happen! They didn't care!"

"I'm sure they cared a lot, but they couldn't fight a powerful man like that. It was wrong to force these children to live without the people who love them most because of something that happened to you twenty-five years ago." JJ replied.

Harris looked at her for a long moment then bellowed, "Shut up! You broads are wasting my time!" with that, he gripped Cooper Jackson's little brother, Bobby in to a tight headlock, terrifying him even more.

"Are you calling me fat?" Ziva asked, shoving her gun in his direction

"What... NO! I never said anything about your weight! What the hell are you talkin' about?!" asked Harris, in fear covered by anger.

"Well, you called me broad, did you not? Broad means wide and fat, yes?"

"NO! I mean broad does mean wide, yeah, but I wasn't calling you fat! Wait a sec! You're trying to throw me off, right? Make me lose my edge so you can get a good shot at me! Ok, enough wasting time!" You are ALL gonna die!" The kids shrieked and started sobbing harder when they heard that. JJ and Ziva both raised their guns, but never got the chance to shoot.

A voice from behind Harris yelled, "Ziva, JJ ,Duck!" The two women and the kids except for little Bobby, hit the floor just as there was a loud BANG, and Judd Harris fell down dead. Bobby rolled away just in time to avoid getting squished under the man's body. Tony burst into the barn with Morgan right behind him. Morgan told the others on the radio that Judd Harris was dead. Tony called Ducky who said that he and Palmer would be at the scene shortly. JJ and Ziva were busy comforting terrified children. The others made their way over to the barn. Emily helped question the kids, while the others finished with the crime scene. There would be a lot of paperwork for both times the next day, but for now, everyone decided to try not to think about it at the moment. They were just glad to be able to wrap up this case and get the kids reunited with their parents. Ducky and Palmer soon arrived, as well as ambulances with paramedics to check the kids over. After the kids were looked over, they were taken to the hospital and parents were called to meet them there. The team stayed at the scene until the work was finished. Then they went to the hospital to check on the rescued kids. The parents profusely thanked both teams for finding and saving their children. As the agents prepared to head back to the BAU, Tony and Ziva stood back and watched the happy reunion of the families.

"This is the best part of our job." Tony said in a low voice.

Ziva nodded. "Sometimes I wonder why I chose NCIS. Then I see moments like these, and I know."

"You'd never quit. You'd miss me too much. Besides who would protect you out there?" Tony quipped, earning himself a very dark look from his partner.

"I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself, Tony!"

"Sure you are. That's why I had to come in and save you guys in the barn."

"I was handling the situation! It was going just fine. I could have taken him down, but you had to come in all swiggy trying to be James Bond!" Tony rolled his eyes.

"First of all, it's swaggy, not swiggy. Second of all, there was no way you had a shot that wouldn't risk all those kids. I did. And by the way, broad the way Harris meant is what gangster types or guys from the Bronx call women. "

"Well it also means wide, yes?"

"Sure. Just not in this case."

"English is still a strange language!" Ziva said, exasperatedly.

"Well, one thing for sure. You sure confused Harris. Honestly, you distracted him enough that I could get into the barn without him noticing."

Ziva chuckled and had to admit, "Yes. The look on his face right after was priceless." Then she couldn't help adding, "But I still could have taken him out myself without your help." Tony gave an exasperated sigh, then was even more annoyed by the smirk Ziva shot at his back. Neither noticed that two other agents were watching that whole scene unfold.

"Do they always act like that?" Reid asked McGee incredulously. McGee nodded.

"Pretty much." Reid shook his head.

"So you deal with this every day." McGee gave a rueful grin.

"I know. It's sickening. It's also annoying and potentially dangerous if I get caught in the middle. Gibbs keeps them in line mostly, though."

"How?" Reid asked. Just then Gibbs strode past them and over to the two bickering agents, giving them each a smack on the backs of their heads, effectively ending the sparring session.

"That's how." McGee said, as Gibbs walked back over to Rossi without another word.

"But physical assault in the work place is a finable offense according to the federal rules and guidelines!" Reid sputtered.

"But it works for Gibbs. He's never been called on it."

"Does he do it to you?" questioned the BAU agent. McGee shrugged.

"Not as much as them, but then I don't goof off as much as Tony." Reid didn't know what to say to that, so he didn't respond.

Gibbs and Hotch called their teams together and they all headed back to the BAU. Once there, McGee said to Gibbs, "Hey Boss, I was just thinking, Abby still has to pack up all the FBI evidence and bring it back here. Maybe I should head over and help her. It's a big job."

"I'm gonna need you here to help gather up all the stuff from there that we schlepped over here. She can get Palmer to help as soon as Ducky's done with him," was the curt response.

Reid realized that other than his paperwork which he could finish later, there really wasn't much for him to do, so he said, "I've got some time. I'll go over and help her if it's alright with you Hotch."

Hotch thought and then said, "You always finish the paperwork in about twenty minutes and with two teams, we've got it covered as far as clean up. Go ahead. Then you can show her where everything goes when you get back here."

"All right." Reid agreed. Then he headed out.

Meanwhile, Judd Harris' sister was taken to NCIS by Gibbs to see her brother's body. With tears running down her face, she quietly looked at the man's lifeless body for a few moments before turning to Gibbs.

"He started out as a good boy. But he changed after starting at that military school. Every time he came for visits or we went for family day he'd talk to us less and less. Just got more and more sullen. He ran away at sixteen, and nobody knew where he was for years. When he came to ask me if he could stay with me, I was just so happy to see him alive that I didn't question it. That is, until about a week before your people came to question me. I had found some messages and notes to his old classmates. And his old yearbooks were strewn everywhere. But then I asked him what was going on and he got violent. That's why I refused to talk to your Agents at first."

"What made you change your mind?" Gibbs asked.

"Well, I couldn't stand the thought of anything happening to those poor children because I was afraid to stand up to my own brother. I wanted to be part of the solution, not the problem." Gibbs simply nodded.

"When may I make arrangements to have my brother buried, Dr. Mallard?" the woman asked, turning to Ducky. Ducky patted the woman on the shoulder.

"Well, as you can see, he has already been sewn up. You may make arrangements to have him picked up tomorrow morning, if you wish. Would you like me to give you the name of a good funeral home? Perhaps the funeral home I used when I had to bury my mother?"

"Thank you. That would be nice. I'm so mixed up now. My parents died before I moved here. They were both cremated. I would like my brother to be as well."

"Very well, my dear. I shall write the information down for you before you leave. Would you like a few moments alone with your brother?"

"Yes, please." Aida said gratefully. As Ducky and Gibbs turned to leave, the woman stopped them.

"Dr. Mallard? I'm very sorry for your loss. Thank you for being so kind to me. I am truly sorry for what my brother did, and for the pain he caused so many people."

"Not your fault, Ms. Harris. You aren't responsible for your brother's choices." Gibbs replied kindly. Aida smiled a small smile as she replied,

"Ginger and I are leaving as soon as arrangements can be made. I can't stay in that house or this town anymore. Too many painful memories."

"Understandable, Ms. Harris, but may I offer you a piece of advice?"

Aida looked at the ME expectantly.

"Don't let this one tragic event in your life define your whole life. Move forward. Not back."

"Thank you, Dr. Mallard. I'll keep that in mind." Aida responded quietly. With that Ducky and Gibbs left the woman alone with her grief.

Back at the BAU, Ziva and Prentiss were packing up the round table room in awkward silence. Now that the case was over, both had had time to think about their conversation and they now were feeling exposed and embarrassed at their uncharacteristic openness. After several uncomfortable moments, Prentiss spoke up.

"Listen, Ziva. I...I'm not sure what to say right now. I don't usually let myself open up to most people. Especially someone I just met a few days ago. I'm not sure why I told you my story." Ziva didn't look at the other agent as she replied,

"It is ok. I have been told I am a good listener. Most likely because I do not like to talk with people openly either. I am not certain of what came over me. I am sorry if I made you uncomfortable." Prentiss was quick to reassure her new friend.

"Oh, no. I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable, though." Ziva looked up and gave a small smile, then looked down again.

"I did not mind listening. I am... sorry for what you had to go through. I believe I ...shared more because...well... I... sensed something in you. A connection, a certain... sadness...pain that I could relate too in myself." Prentiss smiled back at Ziva and said,

"I felt that way, too. My excuse could be that I'm a profiler." Ziva nodded slightly.

"I am ex-Mossad. I, too, have been trained to observe and notice things others do not. But I believe we connected because we have known similar pain in our lives."

"It was nice to talk to someone who...you know... understands."

"It was", Ziva agreed. After a pause, she added

"Agent Prentiss, can we keep this all between the two of us. And could we not speak of it again?" Emily looked relieved as she nodded and replied,

"That is an excellent idea." The two shared a meaningful look of understanding, and then got back to work.

As Emily and Ziva were having their conversation, Reid was headed to NCIS. Once he got there and checked in, he headed straight to Abby's lab.

"Abby are you in here?" He called out.

"Right here, Spencer. Check out this new book I found! These pictures are amazing!" Reid found her just around the other side of the computer desk. He joined her and read the book's title out loud.

"Jungle Boogie, a complete profile of the Amazon Jungle. By Thaina Martinez."

"Well, come look at it with me!" Abby said impatiently. Reid had to smile, but he couldn't stop himself from blurting out,

"Did you know there are over five million species of plants, animals, and insects in the Amazon?" Abby gave him a little smile.

"I do now. Let me show you some of the facts I learned from this book." The two looked at the book for about fifteen minutes and then Reid said,

"Actually, the reason I came here was to help you pack up the evidence that belongs at the FBI headquarters. Then we can take it over together. Garcia's really anxious to meet you as well, and you'll get to meet the rest of the team officially. I've met your entire team so it's only fair."

"We'd better get to work then." Abby replied. The two got everything together and carried it out to the cars to load. Abby then followed Reid to the BAU and they carried the boxes in. Up in the bullpen, Abby was surprised to see her favorite team leader.

"Gibbs! What are you doing here? I thought you were at NCIS with Harris' sister and Ducky!" Gibbs smirked as he replied,

"Was. Now I'm back here. Still work to do."

"Right! That's why I'm here. Spencer, where can I put this stuff?"

"I'll show you." he replied, then turning to the rest of the group, he added,

"Hey you guys? I almost forgot. This is Abby Sciuto."

"In person. I've seen all of you from the screen. Call me Abby."

"Hey, Abby. I'm Jennifer Jarreau. But most people call me JJ." One by one, the others introduced themselves.

"Derek Morgan."

"Emily Prentiss."

"Aaron Hotchner. Around here I'm Hotch." When it was Rossi's turn, Abby exclaimed,

"I've read your books! I can't believe I'm finally meeting you! This is so cool!" Rossi chuckled and replied,

"It's nice to meet you, too. I've read some of your articles, too. You really know your stuff."

"We couldn't get anything done without Abby." Tony said, making Abby smile. She wasn't standing next to him so she just flashed him the 'I love you' signed instead of a hug

"We know the feeling!" Emily said.

"Yeah, My Baby Girl, Penelope, is a Goddess in the tech world. She's practically a wizard. We've had a lot of cases that would never have been solved without her."

"That is our Abby as well." Ziva said with a smile from her spot next to Abby.

"Aww! Thank you, Ziva!" Abby said, hugging her friend. Ziva just accepted the hug without complaint.

"There's a lot of evidence to bring up. We could really use some help."

"Sure kid, we'll be right down. Where are you two parked?" was Morgan's quick reply.

"South garage, Zone E. We're right next to each other." Abby answered.

"You can't miss Abby's car. It's a candy apple red hotrod." Tony spoke up.

"NICE!" exclaimed Emily.

"Wait till Garcia hears about that!" JJ added. Then they all headed down to gather up the evidence and return it to its place. Afterwards, JJ and Reid took Abby down to Garcia's Lair.

"You have to see this place to believe it." the female profiler explained.

"Um, I just saw her lab. Trust me. She'll believe it." Reid said to his friend. JJ knocked and a voice called back,

"Enter my world if you dare, mere mortals." JJ looked back at Abby with a smirk and a shrug. Abby just grinned. When they walked inside, the forensics Specialist looked around and said,

"Wow! There's more high tech stuff in here than in MTAC. Although you guys don't have the big screen here. And no eye scanners." At the sound of Abby's voice, Garcia spun around in her chair.

"Abby Sciuto?!"

"Hey Penelope! I've been waiting to meet you face to face. I mean, you know, without a screen between our faces." The two women hugged each other and began talking a mile a minute. JJ and Reid looked at each other and decided they had been forgotten, so they left the room. Several minutes later, Garcia and Abby came into the bullpen. The others heard part of the conversation.

"That sounds so much fun! We should totally dress up and go! Ooh and I bet McGee would love it too. He totally loves that kinda stuff."

"Oh and Reid will definitely want to come! He's a total Whovian."

"McGee would love to go where?" McGee asked, coming towards the two excited women. Reid joined them and asked,

"Yeah, what's this about Dr. Who?"

"The comic Con Dr. Who Convention. I was given four free tickets at an event I volunteered at." Garcia said, adding,

"So are you both in?"

"I'm totally in!" McGee exclaimed.

"Count me in, too." Reid agreed. The four nerds then became involved in an animated conversation about role playing and costumes and Dr. Who. The others watched for a few minutes, then Morgan groaned.

"Oh no. There are four of them in one city. And they know each other now.

"This is frightening." JJ agreed with a knowing look.

"We are going to hear about nothing else but this convention thing for weeks." Emily complained.

"So will we. McGee will not shut his cage about it!" said a frustrated Ziva, causing all the BAU people to stare at her.

"What?" she asked, confused. Gibbs smirked and explained,

"She means trap. Not cage." Ziva shot an annoyed look at her friends, who were now chuckling in amusement.

"Whatever. He will still not shut it."

"And now they are going to go out in public together where people will see them. The invasion of the geeks." Tony piped in, rolling his eyes. Rossi, Hotch and Gibbs just shook their heads and smiled at their team members' antics. Then Rossi suggested,

"How about a round of drinks on me? I have a bottle of ninety year old scotch that's never been open."

"Sounds great. Jack's at a sleepover with Jessica and his cousins tonight, so I'm free."

"Sure, I'm in." Gibbs replied, amicably. The three men headed up the stairs to Rossi's office and shut the door and settled in to enjoy the evening.

**Well, case is over and new friends have been made. I am including the part of a season 7 CM episode that include the Comic Con and Reid and**

**Garcia went to when they saw Rossi and Strauss together, plus some other key moments from CM with the NCIS crew added in. I'll also add a few events from season's nine and 10 for NCIS with Reid and the CM team added in. I wrote the bit about the Amazon book in in honor of my Friend from Brazil, who's first name I named the author of this made up book after I my story. Please pray for the safety everyone in or near the Amazon Jungle. The next chapter of this story will probably not be posted till next week because I'll have company over the**

**weekend. If I can, I'll try to post earlier. Have a great week!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey guys! Here's the next chapter! It includes two famous events in season seven of CM! Please read AND review! Thanks!**

Six weeks later, four nerds in costume found themselves standing in line to get into the Dr. Who convention.

"This is Stellar!" Abby exclaimed. Garcia grinned.

"I know, right! This is deliciously epic!"

"Did you know that there have been eleven doctors in all. Since the show premiered in nineteen sixty-three, eleven different actors have portrayed Dr. Who."

"I suppose you know all their names?" Abby challenged. Reid accepted the challenge and proceeded to list the actors by name, one by one.

"Um, do ya think we should make sure we have what we need to go in? The line's getting closer." McGee asked.

"He's right." Garcia said, looking up."

"I want to get a picture with the original actress who plays Jo Grant from the original series." McGee told the others.

"I heard that Tom Baker's gonna be here today, too." Abby said excitedly.

"Oh! He's my favorite Who!" Garcia exclaimed.

"Mine too!" Abby agreed.

"Personally I feel that nothing can beat the original. William Hartnell will always be the best."

"I don't know about that. I've always liked Patrick Troughton as Dr. Who."

The four friends argued over who was the best Doctor for another several minutes before they realized their group was next in line. They handed over their tickets and went inside. They participated in the interactive shows, got pictures with as many current and former cast members as they could and found some Souvenirs. Garcia found some cool Tardis earrings and Abby found a bottle-cap charm with Tom Baker's picture in it; Reid found a cool dark purple Dr. Who scarf and McGee finally found a fun T-shirt with the Tardis on it and a knock-knock joke.

After having a bite to eat and attending a couple of more seminar sessions, the four government employees decided to call it a day. Garcia insisted they take a selfie together, so they found a place outside the convention center and Reid took the picture, since he had the longest arms. They were just about to leave when Reid notice someone familiar coming out of a hotel across the street.

"Hey Garcia? Look over there. Is that..." Garcia looked where the genius was pointing and gasped before finishing his sentence.

"My Italian Stallion... coming out of a hotel, and he's with..."

"Strauss!" the two finished together.

"Well, now you have your proof." McGee spoke up. Abby shot him a confused look, so he elaborated,

"The other day when we were working the case, Penelope was saying that their team was suspicious that something was going on with those two, but they had no proof."

"I believe I'd just as soon not have the proof. Now I've got an image burned into my brain of what Rossi was doing with the dragon lady in that hotel, and I am totally disgusted." Garcia grumbled.

"Eww! Thanks a lot Garcia! We certainly didn't need or want that image in our heads!" Reid exclaimed. Just then, Reid's and Garcia's phones rang at the same time.

"Saved by the ringtone!" Garcia said, making the others smile. Reid and Garcia took the calls quickly and returned to where their friends stood.

"Sorry, guys. We've got a case. It's been fun. Abby, I'll call you when we have our next girls' night. Bring Ziva, too!"

"Definitely! Just let me know when, and I'll talk to Ziva!"

"I genuinely had a great time today. Thanks for joining us, you guys."

"Oh believe me, it was totally worth it! I've been wanting to go to a Dr. Who convention for a while now and something always happened to mess up the plans. I was so stoked I was finally getting to go."

"I had an awesome time, too. Hope your case doesn't take too long. See ya guys later." McGee said. Abby hugged both Reid and Garcia. Upon seeing Reid stiffen, McGee said,

"That's just what Abby does. You'll get used to it." Garcia hugged Abby and then turned and hugged McGee. Reid gave him a sheepish grin and said,

"I should be used to it already." The group laughed together, then Garcia and Reid headed off to Quantico. McGee took Abby back to her place and then headed back to his own apartment to work on his next best seller.

It took a several weeks to schedule a girls' night. It seemed like all the bad guys decided to commit crimes one after the other, keeping both teams incredibly busy. Finally, though, it happened. Abby and Ziva met JJ, Prentiss, and Garcia at their favorite bar.

"So what's good here?" Abby asked.

"Well, they have pretty good Buffalo wings and the fried mushrooms are really good." Emily said.

"Do they have nachos?" Ziva asked.

"Oh yeah. The nachos are to die for!" JJ replied. Ziva's eyes got really huge. Abby realized where her friend's mind was going and chuckled before assuring her,

"It's only an expression, Ziva. I promise the nachos won't actually kill you."

"Ugh! You'd think after being in America for nearly seven years I would know how to speak correctly."

"Well in your defense, we do have a pretty wacked out way of talking sometimes. Plus all the words that have multiple meanings and the words that sound alike. And you speak seven languages while some people have a hard time just mastering one." Abby pointed out. The other four women laughed. Then they found a place to sit and looked over the menu.

"Oh! You two have GOT to try the Green Fairy." Garcia insisted.

"What is in it?" Ziva asked suspiciously.

"Well, we've never been able to figure it out, but it is out of this world!" Luckily Ziva knew that idiom from being around Tony and Abby so much. She shrugged.

"Okay. I will give it a whirl." They all looked at her, impressed. Mistaking the looks for shock, she said,

"What? I got that idiom right, yes?"

"Oh yes! You got it perfect." Garcia replied.

"I've never heard you use that term before, Ziva. You said it just right. Good job!" Abby told her.

"Thank you." Ziva responded with a pleased little smile.

"I'll check out that Green Fairy, too." Abby announced to the group. When the waiter came, JJ ordered Buffalo wings, fried mushrooms and nachos, as well as Green Fairys all around. While they ate and drank, JJ, Emily, and Garcia cracked Abby and Ziva up with the story of ' Brad, the real FBI agent.'

"So, this Brad was an imposter?" Ziva asked.

"And a show-off," Emily added.

"And a total idiot!" JJ tacked on.

"As soon as we showed him our badges, he ran for the hills." It didn't take long for the Green Fairy to take effect. Abby felt the first strong buzz within half an hour.

"Whoa. Trippy." was her reaction.

"I feel like I could fly." Ziva slurred. It had taken longer with her than Abby, but even Ziva David couldn't avoid the powerful effects of the Green Fairy.

"I'm glad Spence is watching Henry tonight. And Will will be able to help tomorrow. I guarantee I will be less than functional." said JJ, slurring her words.

"Well, I live alone except for Sergio. He won't be any help at all." Emily said, before giggling.

"Sergio is Emily's cat. Black cat."

"Wow! A black cat? How cool is that?" Abby piped in. The group talked for several more hours. By the time they got a cab home, it was two AM. Reid was NOT happy.

The next day, as predicted, all five women had the hangover to end all hangovers. However, Garcia, JJ, and Prentiss still had to go to a marathon event to support Hotch, and Ziva and Abby still had to go to work when they were called in. Ziva was in a bad mood and feeling sicker than she ever had before. She groaned and dropped her head on her desk. Tony and McGee tried to find out what had happened. They got nowhere, except for Tony who did get a pencil cup thrown at him. Gibbs had managed to get the story out of Abby, after which he left the building. He returned about twenty minutes later with two large extra strong coffees. He put one of Ziva's desk and said,

"Drink this. It'll help."

"Thanks." the Israeli mumbled without raising her head. On his way out with Abby's coffee, he leaned towards Tony and said,

"Girls' night out gone wrong. I'd avoid her at all costs if I were you." Then speaking just loud enough for Ziva to hear, he added,

"And whatever you do, don't mention the Green Fairy." With that, Ziva let out a loud groan and stumbled as fast a she could out of the squad room and towards the ladies' room. Gibbs smirked at the other two and gave a little shrug before heading down to the lab.

A few weeks later, the results of that fateful girls' night out were all but forgotten, although they all vowed never ever to get the Green Fairy again.

Abby had taken Reid out for his birthday. He was feeling down because it appeared his friends and family had forgotten his special day. On top of that, he had turned thirty, which was a milestone birthday. So Abby was making sure her friend had a special day in spite of that. Besides the lunch, she'd bought him a Dr. Who shirt that said 'Trust me. I'm the doctor.' Reid had to chuckle at that.

"I can't believe your team forgot your birthday. I know how you feel, though. I remember how crushed I was when I even thought that Gibbs had forgotten my birthday."

"He hadn't." Reid inquired. Abby shook her head.

"Nope. He had a special surprise for me at the end of the day. He somehow had snuck it into my lab. But my point is, things aren't always as they seem. "

"I doubt my friends will surprise me. Things have been pretty crazy and awkward between us after Emily..." Reid trailed off, but Abby knew what he was referring to.

"But you are all friends again, right? You've forgiven her?"

"It's not that simple, though. We've finally made our way back to being friends, even a family again. But that doesn't mean things are totally back to normal." Abby nodded.

"Well, you have me as a friend, and I'm gonna make sure you feel as special as you are and deserve to feel."

"Thanks for doing this for me, Abby."

"Any time." Abby replied, hugging Reid. This time, he returned the hug willingly.

"So, Penelope told me that you know how to do some really cool scientific stuff with ordinary stuff from around the house."

"It's science magic. And I'll do it for you but you can't look. A magician never reveals his secrets." Abby rolled her eyes and laughed.

"Spencer! I'm a scientist. I'm sure i could figure it out anyway!"

"All the more reason for you not to look. Now turn around. Come on." Abby eventually gave up and did what she was told. Reid took the film canister and the ingredients out of his messenger bag and prepared the trick.

"Ok. You can look now." Abby looked at the canister. Then she waited and watched.

"Ok, I know something should be happening. Are you sure you know how to do this right? Did you put in the correct measurements?

"Of course I did. Just keep watching. I promise it will be worth it. After a few more moments, something did happen. The canister popped from its lid and soared across the room. They heard a pop and someone yelled,

"Hey! What the...?!" Abby giggled and Reid smiled.

"Sorry Tony!" Abby called out.

"What was that thing?" Tony demanded.

"Spencer was just showing me some science magic. It's so cool.

"Like special effects?" Tony asked, intrigued.

"Kinda." Abby agreed.

"Sweet! I wanna see some of that!" Tony requested.

"I have some ingredients left. I have time for another quick demonstration." Reid replied, adding,

"Turn around. No peeking."

"Is he serious?" asked Tony, annoyed.

"Very." Abby replied, turning her friend around with her.

"Ready." said Reid, after a few moments. Abby and Tony turned back around and watched the canister closely.

"It takes a few moments, but it's totally worth the wait! Trust me! This is so rad!" Abby informed Tony.

It finally popped and sent the canister rocket flying. A person entered the room, unnoticed at first. Then the looks of delight turned to horror as the little rocket bounced off Gibbs' shoulder and landed on the floor near his feet. Everyone froze as he looked at them all in silence with the famous Gibbs stare.

**Uh-oh! What's Gibbs going to do to them? Tune in Wednesday to find out! Thanks for reading! Have a happy and safe Labor Day weekend!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Here's chapter 8! Hope ya guys like it! Please read AND review! Thanks!**

"He did it, Boss!" Tony said, pointing to Reid. Reid gulped nervously as Abby smacked Tony on the shoulder.

"Tony! You wanted to see the trick! Stop trying to pin the blame on Spencer!"

Gibbs walked straight towards the three without a word. Reid backed up, terrified of what Gibbs would do to him. Instead of coming towards him though, Gibbs walked right up to Tony and head slapped him.

OW! What was that for, Boss?!" Tony demanded.

"For trying to get out of trouble by throwing someone else under the bus like a five-year- old."

"Yeah, Tony! Not cool!" Abby said with a glare.

Gibbs gave the Goth a look then turned to Reid with a small smile.

"Nice rocket."

"Thank you, sir." Reid said in surprise as the man headed out the door. As Gibbs exited, he called back,

"My people, back to work!" Tony and Abby smiled at each other, while Reid looked relieved. Then the genius turned to the two NCIS employees.

"I guess I should get back to the BAU. Thanks again for lunch and the shirt, Abby."

"It was my pleasure, Spencer. See ya later!"

"Bye, Reid." Tony added.

"Bye, Tony." The younger Agent replied.

After their visitor left, Abby and Tony got back to work on the current case.

Over the next few weeks, Abby had a temporary pet at her place. She was dog-sitting her friend, Jayden's, Australian shepherd, Mel. Jayden was a friend from a non-kill shelter that Abby had volunteered at for several years. One day she was walking Mel in Rock Creek Park, and she spotted Reid on a bench near a playground. He was talking to JJ. Mel barked when they neared the bench, but Abby quickly got him under control.

"Hey, guys! What are you two doing here?"

"Hey, Abby. My son, Henry, wanted to come play at the park. Spence is Henry's Godfather and he adores him."

"The feeling is mutual." Reid inserted. JJ grinned and continued.

"So I called him up and asked him to join us."

"Is that your dog?" Reid asked, as Mel growled.

"Oh, no. He belongs to a friend of mine. I'm just pet-sitting. I don't know what's up with him. He usually behaves himself better than this. Mel, sit!" Mel looked suspiciously at Reid, but did as he was told. JJ shot Reid a knowing look, and informed Abby.

"Dogs don't like Spence. At least most of the time. We call it the Reid effect." Abby chuckled and said,

"Oh, Mel's a good dog. He'll probably love Spencer once he's been around him awhile. Reid looked skeptical, but replied,

"Well, it's good to see you again. I'm glad you happened to decide to walk him here."

Just then, Henry bounded up.

"Mama, I'm hungry."

"Ok. We'll eat in just a minute. Come here. Uncle Spence and I want you to meet someone."

"Ok."

"Henry, this is Ms. Sciuto from NCIS. She helped your mom and I catch a bad guy once."

"Hey, Henry. You can call me Abby." Abby said, leaning down to the little boy's level."

"Hi, Abby. Can I pet your dog?"

"Well, he's not actually mine. I'm pet-sitting him for a friend, but sure, you can pet him. He's really sweet. He's name's Mel."

"Hi, Mel. I'm Henry!" Henry said, petting the Aussie. Abby melted.

"He's so cute! How old is he?"

"He just turned three." JJ told her.

"Would you like to join us for lunch? I made plenty of extra food."

"I don't want to interrupt you guys' time together." Abby protested.

"You wouldn't be intruding. We'd love to have you." Reid assured her, and JJ nodded.

"Yeah! Please!?" Henry begged."

"Ok, then. Yeah, I'd love to join ya guys."

"YAAAAY!" Henry cheered, making the grownups laugh.

"He's taken with you Abby. He doesn't take to just anyone like that. You must have a way with kids."

"Well, Henry's a sweet kid." Abby replied. Then the group found a picnic table and sat down to eat and enjoy each other's company.

After JJ took Henry home for his nap, Abby and Reid continued to talk.

"Do you have any siblings?" Reid asked Abby.

"I have a younger brother. He's the only immediate biological family I have left. My Dad died when I was a teenager and my mom died not long after I started working at NCIS."

"I'm sorry." was the sincere reply.

"So what about you? Do you have any siblings?" Abby countered.

"No. I was an only child." Reid answered

"So were your parents really overprotective of you?" Reid didn't answer that right away. He didn't like talking about his past or his mom a lot. He looked at Abby and saw that she genuinely cared and she wasn't asking anything really unusual or particularly personal. However, the answer was VERY personal. Could he trust her? Maybe he could just tell her the basics. He took a deep breath and said,

"Well, my dad left when I was nine. My mother is a schizophrenic. I mainly took care of her after my dad left, until I had her institutionalized when I reached the age of eighteen. She lives in Vegas at Bennington."

"Wow. I… don't know what to say. I'm so sorry Spencer."

"Well, it...was what it was. I had no choice, so I did what I had to." They sat in silence for a few moments, then Abby changed the subject.

"Did I tell you that I've signed up to be tested to be a volunteer donor?"

"Donor for what?" Reid asked.

"A kidney. They need kidney donors because the hospitals have waiting lists a mile long and not enough kidneys."

"Isn't that dangerous?"

"It has some risks, but anything worth doing has risks. There are precautions to take. But there are rarely complications. I looked into it thoroughly before I signed up. I go and get tested tomorrow. I haven't told the team at NCIS yet. They'll only worry about me. Especially Gibbs. He's so overprotective!" Abby said, rolling her eyes.

"He just cares about you. He wants you to be safe."

"I know, but ultimately it's my life, my decision. I'll tell them tomorrow, right before I head to get tested" The two talked a bit more before Abby had to get back home with Mel.

The next day, Abby found herself waiting to be tested. After that she'd have to wait for the results. She told the team after she found out she was a match. As suspected, Gibbs was not happy. He didn't stop her, though. He just told her not to make any decisions suddenly.

When she got to the hospital, she found out she wasn't the only eligible donor. There was another match so close, the person had to be related to Abby. She didn't understand. Her brother, Luca was all the way in NOLA. Besides, he didn't do stuff like that anyway. Abby was still confused for days. She barely was able to focus on her work. She figured out that there was something more to this than met the eye. She did as much research as she could in her free time. Finally, one day, Gibbs came in. After she gave him the results for the case they were working on, he handed her a slip of paper. It was the number and address for the other donor's place of business.

Abby still had Mel, so that evening after work, she took him on a walk in Rock Creek Park. This time, they went by the chess tables. She found Reid playing against a boy who appeared to be about twelve.

"Hey, Spencer."

"Hello, Abby. Hello, Mel." Mel gave a few barks, so Reid avoided petting him.

"Mel, Be friendly. Spencer is a good person. See?... Spencer, hold your hand out and let him sniff you." Reid looked at her in shock.

"Are you kidding me? He'd bite my hand off."

"No he won't! Just come here." Abby said, taking her friend by the hand. He allowed her to gently hold his hand out to Mel, who sniffed it suspiciously. Then after a moment, gave Reid a friendly lick, before looking up at Abby for approval. Abby smiled and patted the dog, then looked at Reid, clearly wanting him to follow suit. He gingerly reached out and stroked Mel's soft fur. The dog then rubbed against his pant leg.

"See, I told you." Abby pointed out.

"So what brings you two out here?" Reid asked, as he stepped away from the dog.

"I needed to get out of my apartment and Mel needed a walk." Was Abby's reply

"Everything ok?" Reid asked, concerned. Abby sighed.

"It's fine. Just sorta crazy mixed up, right now."

"Do ya want to talk about it? I'm pretty good about sorting out things." Reid offered. Abby hesitated for a few moments, as Reid waited patiently for her to decide to trust him.

"Well, you know I signed up to test to be a donor." Reid nodded.

"Were you a match?" Abby looked up quickly, and then down at her feet.

"Well, that's just it. I AM a match, but so is one other person."

"What do you mean?" Reid asked, slowly.

"I mean there is another person out there who is the perfect match as well."

"But that's impossible. Your brother is all the way in New Orleans right?"

"Exactly. He can't stand needles so he'd never get tested anyway, but if he did, it wouldn't be here in DC."

"So somebody else out there has to be related to you. Do you have any relatives here in DC? A cousin maybe?" Reid wondered. Abby shook her head.

"The DNA matched at 98.9 percent. It could only be a close relative. VERY close." Abby looked Reid straight in the eye before saying,

"Spencer, I have another sibling out there that I never knew about!"

**WOAH! Poor Abby! Can Reid help her process all this? That question and more will be answered Friday. By the way, I need a cute nickname for Abby to call**

**Reid when they actually start Dating. and One for him to call her, maybe? Anyway, I'm putting this out to my readers. Any ideas,guys? I really want them to be **

**authentic and in character with the names. Leave your ideas in your reivews! Thanks! And Thanks for reading!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey, guys! Here's the next chapter. Before you start reading, I need to make note of a couple of things. to the guest that called me a hypocrite: By **

**definition, a hypocrite is someone who accuses someone of something and then goes and intentionally does the same thing themselves. That's not me. **

**I love Tony's antics on the show and all I was trying to do is keep them in his character in my story. I may have overdone it with the reactions but The **

**Gibbs-slaps happen a lot on the show. Abby sometimes scolds Tony when he acts like that. So I was trying to keep everyone in character. I was NOT intentionally bashing Tohy.**

**When I call others out for character bashing, its when they exaggerate a characters faults in an entire story and turn them into total monsters or brats just **

**because they hate the character on the show. That is NOT what I was doing with Tony. again I love his antics and quirks. to the other guest who called my story**

**boring and suggested another pairing such as McGee and reid: My only question is, How is a McGee and Reid pairing any lest boring than Reid and Abby?**

**McGee and Reid are more alike than Reid and Abby. That's all. On with the story Please read AND review! Thanks!**

"What?! But that would be impossible. Unless your parents had a child they gave up before you were born, and didn't tell you. Is this person older?"

"I don't know. I haven't gotten all the information yet. I still can't get my head around why my parents wouldn't tell me about another brother or sister."

"Well, if your parents or your mother before she met your father, had a child and couldn't care for them, maybe it was too painful to talk about." Abby shook her head.

"I don't know, Spencer. It.. it just doesn't make any sense. The loving parents I knew wouldn't give up a child and not tell anyone about it. They especially would have told me and my brother."

"Well, maybe the topic just never came up. Or they thought it would be easier not to try and explain it to you."

"What? Like, what I didn't know wouldn't hurt me? Well, that didn't go as planned, obviously." Abby grumbled, bitterly. Reid paused a moment before asking,

"Have you talked to Luca about this?" Abby sighed and shook her head.

"I haven't got a clue as to what I'd say to him. I don't understand what the hell's going on myself."

"Why don't you see if you can get the hospital to give you a name?" Reid suggested.

"Actually Gibbs got McGee to get it for me. I do have a name. Kyle Davis. I have a brother. McGee was able to get me an address and number of where he works and Gibbs brought it down to me."

"But you're anxious about calling him." Reid replied. It wasn't a question. He wasn't known as a genius for nothing. Abby looked uncomfortable.

"I just don't know how to do this. What do I say to him? Maybe he doesn't know he's adopted. It would be a shock. I don't want anyone to have to feel like I do right now." Reid looked thoughtful.

"What did Gibbs say?"

"Gibbs?" Abby asked innocently.

"I know you had to have talked to him about this when he gave you the address."

"Maybe." Abby said shyly, then she looked up and admitted,

"Ok. We did talk a little. Basically he let me know that I needed to do what's best for me. He'll support me, whatever I decide."

"So will I. but you shouldn't let fear be the only thing keeping you from having a relationship with your brother." Abby stood up as she said,

"I'll think about it. I guess I better go. I need to get Mel home and fed and ready to be picked up tomorrow."

"I need to get going, too. I'm supposed to be meeting Emily for coffee in an hour." was the reply

"Tell her I said hi!" Abby requested

"I will." answered Reid with a smile. Then the two went their separate ways.

All the way back to her apartment, Abby thought about what Reid had said along with the advice she had gotten from Gibbs and Ducky before that. By the time she had fed and bathed Mel, she'd made a decision. The next day after Mel had been picked up, she headed to the animal rescue center address she'd been given for Kyle Davis. She saw him through the window and waved. He came out with a puppy in his arms. "You look familiar. Have we met?" Kyle asked. Abby shook her head with a small smile. He placed the puppy into the Goth's arms before saying,

Are you sure?. I feel like I know you. Maybe from the dog park over on Eleventh Street?"

"I don't have a dog. I've never been to the dog park on Eleventh Street." Abby said softly as she stroked the puppy's soft fur. Kyle shrugged and said,

"Wow. I just can't shake the feeling I've seen you before." Abby then told him how much she admired the work he did at the shelter. Then they talked about their mutual love for animals and their charity work, everything except their familial connection. When Abby found out that he had the transplant operation coming up in a couple of weeks, she decided he didn't need the added stress or the shock. After she left, she went home. In the quiet of her house, something occurred to her. She opened her locket that she always wore and took out her mother's picture. She took out a strand of hair from her mother's locks and cut a piece of her own. Then she rushed to her lab and ran some tests. The results told her something she never would have suspected. It was a crushing blow. Still in shock, she went into auto pilot and drove until she reached Gibbs' house. When she rang the bell, Gibbs answered fairly quickly. One glance told her he had been reading on the couch. She noticed his mug was filled with a liquid other than his usual coffee. In order to buy herself more time to process how to tell him her discovery, she took advantage of this and said,

"You're drinking tea?" Gibbs smirked.

"Yeah. Just don't tell Ducky. He'll try to give me a lesson on brewing." Abby gave a small smile. Gibbs noticed that she wasn't her usual bouncy self, so he initiated a conversation.

"Did you talk to him?"

"Kyle? My brother? Yeah."

"How'd it go?"

"I didn't tell him who I was. He's got that transplant surgery coming up in a couple of weeks. I just didn't want to add to his stress, ya know." Gibbs nodded and waited for Abby to speak.

"After I talked to him, actually it was something Spencer said that got me started thinking, Then, meeting Kyle just sent my head spinning with all these crazy thoughts. What really happened. I mean, Gibbs, I can't believe my parents would give up a child and then have two more and keep them. It just doesn't add up. And the more I thought about I just KNEW! The kind, loving parents I know would never give up a kid. But they would have adopted one...and they did. Me." Gibbs gave Abby a look and she reiterated.

"It was me, Gibbs. I'm adopted." Then she opened her locket to show him the picture.

"Is that your mom?" Gibbs asked." Abby nodded.

"Yeah." Gibbs replied softly,

"She was beautiful." Abby looked at Gibbs earnestly and anxiously

"I keep a lock of her hair behind the picture in my locket. Today I tested it against mine. It's not a DNA match, Gibbs. I've gone years believing I was one person and now I find out it was all a lie. I.. I feel like... I don't know who I am, anymore." Gibbs was quiet for a moment, as if he were just thinking over his next words carefully.

"You're still you, Abs. Your parents...they're still your parents as you know them. That'll never change."

"But, why didn't they tell me? I would have understood. I'm very understanding." Abby replied, tears forming in her eyes.

"I'm sure they had their reasons."

"Well, there could never be a good enough reason for keeping something that big from me. And now I can't even ask them why."

"Would it make a difference if you could ask them?" Abby sighed and mumbled,

"No. What am I gonna tell Luca? How do I tell him I'm not his big sister?"

"Luca's still your little brother. This won't change that."

"I feel all alone. I don't have a family. I don't belong anywhere." Gibbs held out his arm and Abby slid across the couch into them, the tears starting again. Gibbs held her close as he said,

"Abs, you've got a family, right here. See, family is more than just DNA. It's about people who care about you and who you care about. You never need to feel alone. You've got plenty of people right here that all care about you and will stand by you, k?" Abby just nodded and snuggled closer as Gibbs kissed her head. After several moments, Gibbs asked,

"When are you gonna tell Reid?"

"I don't know. I know I have to. He's waiting to find out if I talked to Kyle. But he'll be shocked at the new bombshell."

"But, he'll support you." Abby sat up.

"What's makes you so sure?" Gibbs looked her in the eye.

"I just know. He cares about you."

"We're just friends, Gibbs." Abby replied, slightly nervous. Gibbs shrugged.

"He still cares about you. All your friends and family do. Remember, that still includes Luca. He's your real brother, with or without shared DNA."

"Thanks, Gibbs. Abby said, giving her friend another hug. Gibbs kissed her cheek and replied,

"Any time." After flashing each other the 'I love you' sign. Abby headed out and called Reid on the way home.

"Hello?" came his voice over the cell waves."

"Hey Spencer."

"Hi, Abby. Did you meet your brother? How did things go?"

"Yeah, I went to visit him at his work. He runs an animal rescue shelter. It's really incredible what they do there."

"So what does he think of having a sister he didn't know about?"

"Well... I didn't actually tell him who I was. I didn't want to add to his stress since the transplant's coming up. He doesn't need any complications in his life now."

"You know that's just an excuse to hide behind. But I won't push you on it. When you're ready you'll tell him."

"Spencer, there's more. I don't want to go into it on the phone. Can we meet somewhere tomorrow?"

"If it's not too late for you, it's not too late for me. Let's meet at the coffee shop on 12th Street. It's open really late."

"Thanks, Spencer. I'll be there in ten." was the reply. When they both had their beverages, Abby a CAFPOW and Reid coffee that was more sugar than coffee, they sat down. Abby told Spencer the entire story and cried a little towards the end. Spencer supported her and comforted her the best he knew how and made Abby feel better just by being there.

"Abby, I was just thinking, there's a seminar at the community college. William Shatner is speaking and he'll talk about behind the scenes and special effects on Star Trek. Would you like to come with me?"

"That's sound fun. Hey, I know McGee has been wanting to ask Penelope out again. We could make it a double date for part of it. Just the seminar, and then we could do something just the two of us before and after and they could too!" Reid actually thought that sounded like a great idea. They'd all had a great time at the convention together.

"That sounds fun. I'll get the tickets after you talk to McGee. He can ask Penelope. I won't mention it to her yet."

"Good idea. I'll call McGee tomorrow after church." Abby agreed. By this time it was almost two AM, so the two of them headed back to their apartments to get some rest.

Abby did call McGee the next day and he agreed to double date. The seminar was scheduled for the first Saturday in November.

It was really crowded when they met up there but they found four seats together. All four were fascinated by the special effects. Especially Abby and Garcia. McGee was almost as enthusiastic. Reid was most interested in the historical points of the talk. After the lecture was over, the four went up and got to talk to William Shatner and get his autograph. It was all in all an incredible evening. Reid and Abby went out for dessert afterwards. McGee and Garcia went to do something different. They didn't say what, and the other two didn't ask. Abby most definitely planned on grilling McGee at work on Monday though.

While eating dessert, Reid told Abby about the surprise party his friends had given him at work.

"That's great. See they did remember."

"Well, I told Prentiss when she thought I was still twenty-nine. They didn't remember on their own."

"But they did give you a party the first chance they had. Didn't you tell me you guys have been swamped with case after case over the past month and a lot were away cases. Plus you had that seminar thing you went to. I know this shows how much they love you that they planned that for you."

"You're right, I guess. I mean I do believe it. It just still hurts a little that they forgot for so long."

"Even family makes mistakes. Forgive and move on. You need your family."

"You're right again."

"Of course I am. I'm never wrong." Abby teased. Then she said,

"What are you doing for Christmas this year?"

"I'll probably go see my mom, but I should be back early afternoon on Christmas day. Sooner if she's having a bad spell. Why?" was the reply.

"Well, every Christmas, the nuns and I serve Christmas dinner at the homeless shelter on 11th Street. We do that at about five PM, then we go back to the church for hot chocolate and a white elephant type thing, only it's stuff we've made. No money can be spent. We also raise money before that and get gifts for the angel tree. We have a wrapping party on Saturday three weeks before Christmas. They have to be taken to the drop off center by the Saturday before Christmas." Abby explained, excitedly.

"That sounds like a wonderful thing to do. I'd like to help with the shopping and wrapping. I'd also love to join you for Christmas." Reid told her. Abby hugged him and exclaimed.

"Super! We'll go shopping for the angels we choose next weekend."

The shopping trip was more fun than Reid even expected. He enjoyed spending time with Abby and he loved picturing the looks on those children's faces when they opened their gifts. The next week was the wrapping party. That was fun as well, and Reid wasn't half bad at wrapping packages and he turned out to be great at making bows.

He went to visit his mother on the twenty-second. She had several good days, but she had a bad spell Christmas Eve morning. Reid was disappointed, but he tried to find an earlier flight. The only one he could get was for six AM Christmas day. He took it and got home around two PM DC time. He took a short nap before heading to pick up Abby to head to the shelter.

"Hey, Spencer! Merry Christmas. How was your visit with your mom?"

"It went pretty well until yesterday."

"No! She had a bad spell on Christmas Eve?! Spencer I'm so sorry. You must be so disappointed." Reid shrugged.

"It wasn't anything that hasn't happened before. It's not like I didn't expect it."

"Still..." Abby trailed off. Luckily, they arrived at the shelter at that moment. Reid was relieved. He didn't want to think about his mother's problems anymore for now.

They went to the dining hall and were shown what they were needed for. Abby was in charge of mashed potatoes and Reid manned the green beans. They were happily serving food to hungry people, when suddenly, a man came in who looked suspicious. Reid noticed him and pointed him out to a couple of men acting as security. They started towards the man, but it was too late. Next thing they knew, the suspicious man pulled out a gun and shot it several times in the air!

"Don't move! Anybody moves, I'll shoot!"

**Uh-oh! What's gonna happen? Will Abby and Reid be alright? Tune in Monday to find out! Thanks for reading! Catch ya later!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey Guys! Here's the next chapter! A quick note: to the Guest, AbbyFan, thanks for your review, This story is mainly about Abby and Reid discovering each**

**other and finding love with each other. The other stuff is details in their day to day lives. See, I tend to write a story as if it were a full season of a show. **

**or in this case, two chapter is an episode. There are the cases but then there are the little things thrown in that make the show enjoyable and the characters relatable,**

**So it may seem like it's all over the place, but sometimes so are the shows and for that matter, so is real life. I hope that answers your question! Thanks again for your review. It is very much appreciated! Thanks to ALL my reviewers. I appreciate every review. Hope**

**you all enjoy this chapter!**

Everyone froze. Abby dropped the ladle into the mashed potatoes and stood with her arms raised. Reid started to speak and identify himself as FBI, but the security man spoke up instead.

"Sir, put down the gun. We don't want any trouble here."

"I said don't move! I swear I'll shoot!" the unbalanced man bellowed, pointing his gun at the security man. Abby stepped forward slightly despite Reid's efforts to stop her.

"Please, sir! It's Christmas. If you're out of work, they can help you here. Come get some food. Please. I know you don't really want to hurt anyone."

"Oh you know that, do you? You think you know me? You think you're better than me?!" yelled the man with the gun. The security man decided to try again.

"Sir, put down the gun, please, and we'll talk about getting you some food and helping you with whatever you're dealing with." The crazy man put his hands on his head and appeared to be trying to pull out his hair.

"SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP! You can't help me! No one can!"

"We can't if you don't lay down your weapon and talk to us. We have people here who can help you." The security man said, calmly.

"ENOUGH!" the man with the gun screamed. Then, before anyone could stop him, he opened fire in the dining room. The guard was the first to go down. Abby screamed as Spencer pushed her to the floor. All around there was chaos and screaming. Reid handed his phone to Abby.

"Call 9-1-1. Then call Hotch and Gibbs."

"What are you gonna do?!" Abby asked breathlessly.

"My job." Reid said simply. Ignoring Abby's protests that it was too dangerous for him to stop this guy, he snuck into the kitchen and got his badge. He didn't have his gun with him because he was supposed to be off.

Abby quickly dialed 9-1-1 and gave them the information they needed. She also emphasized for them to approach without the sirens. This man was unstable and there was no telling what could set him off. Then she called Hotch like she'd promised. He answered quickly.

"Reid? I thought you were in Vegas with your mom."

"Agent Hotchner? It's Abby. Abby Sciuto. Spencer's kinda busy right now. He asked me to call."

"What's happening?" Hotch asked, realizing it was serious. Abby tried to remain calm as she replied,

"We're volunteering at the homeless shelter. There's a man with a gun. Spencer doesn't have his weapon. He's going to try and talk the man down but I don't know if that's a possibility at this point. The guy's unstable he could blow at any minute."

"Did you call 9-1-1?"

"Right before I dialed you," Abby informed him.

"I'll be right there. Lay low and try and remain calm."

"Ok." Abby said. Then they both hung up and Abby dialed Gibbs while keeping a close eye on Reid, who was making his way out of the kitchen.

"Yeah, Gibbs." The team leader answered his phone.

"Gibbs! Gibbs! Gibbs!" Abby half whispered.

"Abbs? What's wrong? Why are you whispering?"

"There's a shooter at the homeless shelter on Sixteenth Street. Spencer and I were volunteering for Christmas dinner and this guy just came in with a gun! He hasn't shot anyone yet but he's on the outskirts of Nutsville, Gibbs and..."

"Hang tight! I'm on my way." Gibbs interrupted. He hung up abruptly, leaving Abby to watch anxiously and Reid made his way towards the bad guy.

Reid went out the back door and came up on the shooter from behind. He wasn't sure what he could do, He wasn't Morgan. Morgan had the muscles. He was the one who could kick down doors. Reid was the brains of the BAU. He used those brains to fight the bad guys. But that couldn't help him this time. Or could it? Reid accessed the situation and figured out the safest approach.

Meanwhile, outside the police approached the building quietly and began to strategize. Hotch had called in the BAU team and Gibbs had called his team as well as Ducky and Palmer.

"What's going on in there?" Morgan asked when he and the others arrived at the scene. Tony shook his head grimly.

"No one's telling us anything."

"I do not think they know anything." Ziva corrected.

"They're trying to get eyes and ears inside the building, but so far, they haven't found a safe entry." McGee added.

"Are our people ok?" Rossi asked Gibbs. The other man shrugged.

"They were when Abbs called me. There hasn't been any contact since then." Rossi nodded. One of the local authorities came over and said,

"Agent Gibbs? Agent Rossi? Did I hear that you both have people inside?" Hotch heard the man and replied for all of them,

"One of my agents as well as Agent Gibbs' forensic scientist were volunteering at this location."

"My forensic scientist, Abigail Sciuto, is the one who made the call to 9-1-1." Gibbs informed the policeman. With a nod, the local cop walked away to talk to his men.

"Why is it always Reid who ends up in these messes?" sighed JJ. Prentiss squeezed her hand. Garcia came over and hugged them both before walking over to where Morgan stood. He pulled her close. McGee looked over at them and said,

"Did you all know they were hanging out more?" Morgan shook his head.

"I usually am pretty good at seeing these things. I'm not the queen of all knowledge. I didn't see this coming though." Garcia piped in.

"See what coming?" asked Tony. The others all looked at him strangely.

"What?!" he demanded.

At that moment, inside the shelter, Reid quietly sneaked up behind the shooter and said,

"FBI! Lower your weapon! The man turned on Reid and aimed. Abby gasped, terrified Reid was about to be killed, but Reid calmly continued.

"My name is Dr. Spencer Reid. May I ask your name?" To everyone's surprise the man, although he didn't lower his weapon, answered Reid.

"They call me Bo."

"Well, Bo, you don't have to do this. Nobody else needs to be hurt. I want to keep everyone as safe as possible. Even you. If you'll lower your weapon, I'll make sure you get the help you need."

"Wait, you said doctor! Are you a shrink?"

"No. I work for the Behavior Analysis Unit for the FBI. But today I'm off duty and celebrating Christmas with my friends here and I just want to help."

"What do you care! You have a nice cushy job with the government. You don't know what I'm going through. I lost my job. My wife left me and took the kids. On Christmas Eve! Yesterday! Just left me all alone on Christmas."

"That has to be very hard on you. But these people are innocent people. They have nothing to do with your firing or your wife and kids. You need to let them go." Just then, sirens were heard approaching the building. Bo heard them too and responded threateningly,

"That's not going to happen. He lifted the gun, but was stopped when a painful object hit him from behind. He dropped his weapon and crumpled to the floor. Reid looked at the operator of the object. It was Abby. She had managed to knock Bo unconscious with one of her platforms. When she saw that Bo was truly unconscious she flung herself into Reid's arms.

"Thank God! I thought he was going to kill you!" Reid hugged her back and replied,

"I was afraid he'd hurt you. And a lot more people, as well." Abby looked around at the bodies of the dead and injured on the ground, but before she could say a word, the doors burst open and the police entered along with the medics. Not long after voices were heard calling out,

"Reid! Abby!" Abby burst into tears of relief.

"Gibbs! Gibbs! Gibbs! We're here!"

"Over here, Hotch!" Reid called out, as well. Gibbs rushed over and hugged Abby tightly.

"Gibbs, it's awful! Horrible! So many people killed and hurt. I couldn't even tell who. It's a nightmare!" Abby managed to get out between sobs.

"I know Abbs. I know." was the soft reply. Off to the side, Reid was filling Hotch in.

"And then Abby actually came up and knocked Bo out with her boot!" Gibbs overheard and pulled back to look at Abby.

"You did that?" Abby sniffled and gave a little nod.

"It-it was the hardest thing I could find to use for a weapon. Luckily I was wearing a pair with zippers."

"Nice work, Abbs." Gibbs said, a hint of pride in his voice. Then he kissed her cheek.

"Abby?" said a soft voice behind them.

"Sister Rosita! Thank God you're ok!" Abby said giving the older woman a hug. Then she pulled back and asked timidly,

"Where are the others?" Sister Rosita's eyes filled with tears.

"Well, Sisters Betina and Veronica are safe. Sister Julia has a broken ankle. Sister Angela has a grazed arm."

"Oh, no. Poor things." Abby said, then she realized three other names weren't mentioned.

"Wait...what about Sister Brigid, Sister Jo and Sister Anna?"

"My dear, I'm sorry to say, they were killed by the shooter." Abby's eyes filled again, too.

"No!"

"I'm afraid so."

"But..but They can't be. They were right next to me."

"They moved when you were making the calls. We all were trying to minister to the wounded. Then he fired again and got all of them." Abby just shook her head and embraced the woman who'd always been like a mother to her, and the two sobbed and prayed together. Gibbs felt like he was intruding so he moved off to the side to speak with Reid and Hotch. After Abby had pulled away from Sister Rosita and rejoined the group, Reid hugged her, relieved that they were both safe and sorry that they couldn't save everyone. Gibbs hugged her for a long moment before saying,

"Abbs, you need to get the medics to check you out."

"Same for you, Reid. That's an order." Reid and Abby groaned

"Hotch, I'm fine." Reid insisted. Abby nodded.

"I don't need to get checked out, Gibbs. I didn't get hurt."

"I'm a doctor. Why isn't my word good enough?" Reid added.

"You're getting a second opinion. I'm not debating this." Hotch said sternly.

"Same goes for you, Abbs." Gibbs ordered. Abby and Reid huffed but obeyed.

"Come on, Spencer. Let's get this over with." Abby grumbled. The two of them allowed the paramedics to check them out. As soon as they were given a clean bill of health, they headed out. They would be called on to give their statements, but their friends were waiting anxiously to make sure they were alright. They needed to see them. They quickly made their way to their friends and received hugs and praise for how they handled the situation.

"Gibbs told us you knocked the guy out! Is that true, Abby?" Palmer asked.

"Well, I wasn't gonna let him kill anyone else, especially not Spencer. I didn't really think. I just grabbed the nearest hardest thing I had for a weapon, which happened to be my platform boot!"

"How fortunate you have on boots with zippers and were able to remove them quickly to use." Ducky spoke up proudly.

"I know. I prayed and prayed until I got an idea. I never would have thought of that otherwise." Abby admitted.

"The Man Upstairs was really looking out for both of you." Rossi agreed.

"I'm so glad you guys are alright!" Prentiss said, hugging first Reid, then Abby.

"I heard you were really brave in there and used those brains of yours, Spence. I'm glad you were with him in there, Abby. You two really saved a lot of lives in there. It could have been much worse if you guys hadn't been there." JJ said, before taking her turn hugging them.

"But. we didn't make enough of a difference. People still died. I lost friends in there, people lost family. And what about those poor people who died in there that have no one? What will happen to them?" Abby responded, looking around at the body bags and injured people on stretchers. McGee came over and hugged his friend.

"Abby, you did all you could. The man was armed. If you hadn't been there to knock him out or Agent Reid hadn't been there to talk him down and distract him, a lot more people would have died today."

"You two are both heroes." Garcia assured them.

"We're proud of you, Abbs." Tony added. Ziva walked over and squeezed Abby's arm as she said,

"And you both are alive. I am very glad of that. I could not imagine life at NCIS without you. You truly are our sunshine, Abby. I do not say that enough." Abby turned and hugged her friend tightly.

"Thank you, Ziva. I'm glad you came to NCIS and that you came back and stayed." After a pause, Morgan gave Reid a manly hug and told him,

"That goes for you too, Pretty Boy. Glad you're ok."

"Thanks Morgan. You're a good friend."

"We both have the best friends/family in the world!" Abby added. Then a local cop came over and said,

"Ms. Sciuto, Agent Reid, we need to take your statements."

"It's Dr. Reid." Hotch corrected the policewoman.

"My apologies. But if you'll please come with us, now..."

"It's ok, Abbs. Will be here when you get back." Gibbs reassured her. Rossi nodded the same reassurance to Reid. So the two looked at each other, nervously, took deep breaths and headed off to separate corners to give their statements. Once they were released, they immediately found each other and walked back to their friends together.

Tony was the first to spot them walking side by side, almost touching. They were in deep conversation. Tony nudged Morgan who looked up. The FBI agent got a wide grin on his face.

"What do you think, Baby Giri? Are they an item?" He asked Garcia.

"It's kinda hard to tell from this distance, but they do look pretty cozy."

"Guys really? Are you really going to harass those two after what they've been through?" JJ asked, annoyed.

"No! Of course not." Tony said, unconvincingly.

"Why don't we just ask them if there's anything between them?" suggested McGee.

"You plan to interrogate them?" asked Ziva.

"Not interrogate. Just a friendly talk." Morgan replied.

"Sure." Emily said, sarcastically. Tony turned to McGee.

"McDetective, you'd better be the one to talk to our favorite Goth. She trusts you the most." the younger man hesitated before responding,

"OK. I'll talk to her."

"Baby Girl? You want to take on the kid?" Morgan asked.

"I'd be happy to, Hot Chocolate." Garcia agreed, earning some strange looks from the NCIS crew at the nickname.

"How are you going to get Agent Reid to tell you anything?" Palmer asked.

"Oh, I have my ways." Garcia replied, mysteriously. The others looked at each other, but didn't respond as the friends in question came towards them, ready to head home after a long day.

**Well, there's chapter 10. Totally took a different turn than I was planning on, but still exciting. More on the plot of the BAU/NCIS teams in the next **

**chapter! How do you all think Abby and Reid will react to the line of Questioning? Tune in at the end of the week to find out! Thanks for reading! **

**Catch ya later!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey guys! Here's the next chapter! Two quick notes first. GuEsT: What you said about Garcia not being allowed at a crime scene because she's not an agent**

**would normally be true, if she was at the crime scene on duty. But in this case she was there outside the building to make sure her friends were ok. In the shows**

**I've seen, the friends and family members of victims in a hostage situation are allowed to wait outside the building at a safe distance until the rescue is **

**complete. Abbyfan: Please don't bash Tony in your reviews! I wasn't trying to bash him in my story. I love Tony and his antics, and I wanted to included**

**them and the reactions which are also funny in my story to make it canon to the show. I don't like bashing in reviews and I don't character bash in my reviews**

**and try not to in my stories. I believe character bashing is disrespectful to the characters, creators, show writers, and the actors. Thanks for your reviews so far. Just please don't bash the characters. Besides it's making the problems with my critics worse. Thanks to all who**

**have read and reviewed so far. Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

Both Reid and Abby were put on medical leave until they were cleared by the shrinks. Both of them of course, went to the bare minimum of appointments and revealed only as much as they needed to in order to get cleared. Reid and Abby kept in touch during their medical leaves.

They played chess together, went for ice cream or frozen yogurt, and a couple of times, they had movie nights. They talked on the phone a lot as well. Mostly to complain.

"Why won't they believe I'm fine? Or I would be if they'd just let me get back to work already! That pushy Dr. Cavanaugh keeps asking these personal questions about stuff that has nothing to do with the shooting! It's getting annoying! I need to work. The creep's already in jail for life." Abby asked in frustration, during one such conversation. Reid nodded understandingly.

"The Bureau psychiatrist is holding me back as well. The team needs me and Dr. Jensen is just wasting my time!"

Exactly!" Abby agreed. Then Reid brought a topic up that had been on Abby's mind for a while.

"Did you have a funeral for your nun friends yet?" Abby forced back her tears as she replied,

"Three separate funerals. I went to all of them. But Spencer, There were six people in that building who had no one. No family. They're just lying in the morgue until they can be cremated and left in some group gravesite or something. It's not fair."

"I know. It's incredibly sad." said Reid.

"I'd like to be able to give them a proper burial. Whatever happened in their lives to make them homeless, they don't deserve to just be cast aside like they're nothing." Abby admitted through her tears.

"Well, why don't you?" was the reply.

"Because I'm not related to any of them. I don't know if I could get possession of the remains."

"What about Dr. Mallard?" Reid asked.

"What about Ducky?" Abby responded, confused. Reid clarified,

"Well, does he know the ME there at the county hospital?" Abby thought for a moment.

"Maybe, why?"

"Could he work something out? Talk him into releasing the remains to you? Your church could have the funeral, couldn't they?" Reid replied.

"That's actually not a bad Idea." Abby said.

"Abby, you have a gift for caring about people who not a lot of others acknowledge. If anyone can convince the morgue to turn over the remains, you can."

"AWW. That's so sweet. Thank you for being such a supportive friend, Spencer." Abby replied.

"You're welcome, I guess." Reid replied uncertainly. The two talked for a few more minutes and then hung up. Abby called up Ducky, who answered right away.

"Hello, Abby. How are you, my dear

"Hi Ducky. I'm ok. Ready to get back to work. I'm going crazy here! But, whatever. How are you doing?"

"I am doing quite well, thank you. We all miss you here. Don't worry though, Abigail. I'm sure you'll be returned to us soon, my dear. Try to be patient." Ducky said calmly.

"But I'm fine, Ducky. I need to be in my lab already." Abby protested.

"I know. I know. You'll be back soon enough. Now what was the real reason you rang me?"

"I was hoping you could help me out with something. It's non-work-related." Abby replied, getting down to business. Ducky smiled and asked,

"All right. What can I do for you?"

"Um, well, it's about the six homeless people who died in the shooting at the shelter. Ducky, they don't have any family and they have no one to give them a proper burial. I'm not related to them, so I'm not really sure they would turn the remains over to me at the morgue. Do you think you might be able to convince them?" Abby informed the ME.

"Well, I can most certainly try. I agree with you that those poor souls deserve to be properly and respectfully laid to rest. They are fortunate to have someone as caring as you to look after their best interests." was Ducky's reply.

"I just know they deserve better than what they would most likely get if no one looks out for them." Abby responded.

"I will look into the matter straight away" Ducky promised.

Being a man of his word, Ducky spoke with the county ME the next morning and got permission for the remains to be released to Abby. For her part, Abby spoke with several of the survivors from the shelter who lived on the streets with the ones who had died. She also spoke with the shelter runners and got information on the six who had died. She would use that information for the eulogies. Sister Rosita and the other nuns in her convent helped plan the service.

In between planning and recuperating, Abby and Reid both received multiple visitors. One day Abby received a visit from McGee. She was very happy to see him. That is, until she figured out that he had a hidden motive. After asking how she was feeling and listening to her frustrated complaints, he said,

"So, I noticed that you've been spending a lot of time with Agent Reid lately."

"What's your point McGee?" Abby asked, suspiciously. The agent shook his head.

"Nothing. I just noticed that you spent Christmas with him and several times when I've called you you've had him here with you or you're at a coffee shop with him or something." Abby raised an eyebrow.

"Do I detect some jealousy there, Timmy?"

"No! It's just...well... Are you dating him?" McGee replied, uncomfortably.

"Did Tony put you up to this?" Abby demanded.

No." McGee replied unconvincingly. Abby narrowed her eyes,

"Spencer and I are just friends. We have some common interests. And we are both on medical leave so we are just trying to get through it."

"Sure about that?" McGee asked with a smirk.

"Yes! So wipe that smirk off your face." Abby ordered. McGee held up his hands in surrender.

"Ok, OK! You're not dating." Then he added with a smirk,

"But you want to." Abby huffed and rolled her eyes.

"Ok! Maybe! I might be a little attracted to him. But he doesn't like me that way, so it doesn't matter." Then she quickly changed the subject, telling her friend about the funeral for the six homeless shooting victims.

"That's a wonderful thing to do, Abbs. Let us know when it is and I know all of us will want to come." McGee told her. Abby hugged McGee tightly and said,

"Thank you, McGee."

"You're welcome, and Abby? About Agent Reid not feeling the same way?"

"Yeah?" Abby urged her friend to continue.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that. I saw the way he looked at you the other day." McGee then said goodbye and left. Abby smiled as she thought about what he'd said.

Across town on the next day, Reid got a surprise visit from Garcia, who had pretty much the same hidden agenda as McGee.

"I brought you some of your favorite cookies." she replied as soon as Reid let her in. Then she set the cookies on the table and hugged Reid.

"Thanks." the genius replied.

"How are you feeling, Sweetcheeks?"

"Like I need to get back to work." was the response. Garcia looked at her friend sympathetically.

"How long do you have?" Reid sighed.

"Another week."

"That's not so bad. In the meantime, you have your goth girlfriend to keep you company." Reid looked at the TA, slightly annoyed. He should have known this was coming.

"She's not my girlfriend. She's a nice friend and we enjoy each other's company. That's all." Garcia chuckled at the weak protest.

"You may not be dating now, but I can tell something's going on. You would like to be dating her." Reid again denied it, but Garcia pushed until he finally said,

"All right! Fine! I like her. I am attracted to her! But she doesn't like me in the same way, so nothing is going to happen between us like that."

"Don't be so sure of that. The others have noticed how both of you look at each other when you think no one is looking. You should ask her on a real date." Reid gave her a small smile.

"I'll think about it." The two talked a little more before Garcia had to leave. Then Reid settled back on the sofa with a book.

The funeral was scheduled for a couple of days before both Abby and Reid would return to work. Abby's entire NCIS family attended as well as Reid. Several of the homeless people who were close to the six also attended as well as the people who ran the shelter and the nuns. Abby's priest gave the eulogies and the ashes were sprinkled along the creek at Rock Creek Park. Afterwards Abby gave her condolences to the homeless community who attended and hugged her friends and thanked them for their support. Abby said good bye to the priest and nuns and then she and Reid and the NCIS team headed to a nearby cafe for lunch.

Abby and Reid both returned to work the next Monday. Both were relieved to out of their apartments. Abby especially was overjoyed to be back in her lab. Her team really needed her. There were several major cases right in a row and there were threats being made to Gibbs and his team, though nothing concrete at the moment. They were keeping a close eye on the threats but they were all praying that nothing would sabotage Palmer's wedding.

Meanwhile, the BAU had their own high profile case. They were chasing three UNSUBS known as the FaceCards. Two of them held JJ's boyfriend, Will, hostage, along with several others in a bank. Will shot and wounded one of them and was then abducted and forced to drive the getaway car. While the team was trying to track him down, the FaceCard known as the Queen kidnapped their son, Henry. When it was all over, Reid told Abby the whole story.

"So JJ kicked in the door and took the Queen down single handedly while Rossi got Henry out."

"WOW! Go Mama bear! But Henry's ok?"

"Perfectly fine, thankfully." Reid replied.

"What about Will?"

"That was the scary part! I don't know how JJ held it together, honestly. By the time we found him, he was strapped to a bomb in a train station."

"Oh my God! What happened!?"

"Thank God Emily was able to disarm the bomb. He's alive but he's in the hospital from some injuries. Which brings me to my question."

"What." Abby responded, curiously.

"Well, JJ proposed to Will." Reid began.

"What?! That's awesome!" Abby exclaimed.

"I know. But Will planned a surprise wedding to be held at Rossi's mansion."

"Agent Rossi has a mansion?!" Abby asked in awe.

"Oh yes. And it's huge. Anyway, the entire NCIS team will be invited to the wedding."

"That's totally rad! I'm so happy for JJ. I'll absolutely be there, and I'm sure the others will want to come, too, but what's the question." Reid cleared his throat

"Well I was wondering if you'd, well, like to come with me?"

"What, you mean like as your date?" Abby asked to clarify.

"Um, yes. Would you like to? I mean , uh, would that be ok with you?" Reid replied nervously. Abby paused as a big smile crossed her face. Then she slowly responded,

"I would love to be your date to the wedding." Reid was shocked. He hadn't expected her to accept.

"R-really? That's great!"

"It'll be fun!" agreed Abby.

The night of the wedding, Abby wore a pretty bright yellow dress instead of her usual black. When they reached Rossi's mansion, Abby hugged everyone and then engaged with Rossi's dog Mudgie. When JJ and her family arrived, she hugged Rossi and then accepted hugs from Abby and everyone else. Henry was especially enthusiastic in his greeting for Abby. JJ's mother surprised her daughter for the occasion as well. While JJ was inside the house getting ready with her mom's help, Abby helped Reid entertain Jack and Henry. Reid performed magic tricks while Abby and the boys watched in amazement.

As Abby sat watching her date, with Henry in her lap and Jack standing right beside her, she couldn't help but smile. She liked this man even more than she could have imagined and she loved watching him with the kids. Abby could picture herself getting serious with Reid. She really hoped he felt the same way. Soon it was time for everyone to take their places so the wedding could start. Will called Henry to join him at the front and Hotch came over to get Jack. Reid surprised Abby by taking her hand and the two of them found their seats and settled in to celebrate JJ and Will's happy moment.

**Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! The NCIS bombing will be coming up in the next chapter. It will deviate a bit from the show. Especially with Reid in the**

**picture. Abby will be getting injured more badly than she did in the bombing on the show. Thanks for reading. Tune in Monday for more.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey! Here's the next chapter! Lots of major action coming! Huge Abby Fan,thankyou for your feedback. I fixed Abby's statement to Tony. the Moron Bit is**

** gone. I ****thought I remembered her using that term on somebody in the show, but now that I think of it, it most likely wasn't one of the team. **

**Or maybe I somehow ****managed to mix up an Abby line with a Kate line. Don't ask me how. Anyway, it's fixed. Thanks to all my other reviewers for **

**your feedback as well. ****Please ****read AND review this chapter! Hope you enjoy it!**

The ceremony was beautiful. At the reception, the NCIS team members took turns dancing with the BAU team members, and in each team, the members danced with each other. After dancing, it was time for the toasts. After the toasts were made and the cake was cut, the friends ate and talked for a while. Gibbs and Ducky left the reception after about another hour. After JJ and Will left for their honeymoon, leaving Henry with JJ's mom, Prentiss cleared her throat and said,

"I've already told Morgan this right before the wedding. I waited till now to bring this up with the rest of you. I was just offered a prestigious job heading the Interpol office in London. I've decided to accept. As I told Derek earlier, It has nothing to do with my family at the BAU. I love you all so much. That won't change. And you guys at NCIS, you all have become great friends as well. Ziva, Abby, I've loved having you join our girls nights." The women all chuckled knowingly. Tony made a mental note to interrogate Ziva later about the 'girl's nights'. Right now, though, Prentiss continued the conversation.

"It's just something that I have to do. Interpol needs me right now."

"But WE need you." Garcia said, with tears in her eyes. Prentiss took her friend's hand and said,

"And you aren't losing me, PG. I'll only be a Skype call away."

"It won't be the same." Garcia responded, mournfully. Ziva caught Prentiss' eye and said softly,

"I understand. You need to do what is best for you." Prentiss gave her a grateful smile, relieved that someone understood.

"Right. Guys, this was one of the hardest choices I've ever made. But I know in my heart that it's the right one."

"That's all that matters, then." McGee replied.

"He's right. We're your family, Emily." We'll support whatever you feel is right for you." Reid spoke up. The others all nodded in agreement.

"Thanks, you guys." Emily replied, relieved.

"But, you aren't leaving without one more inter-team girls' night." Abby insisted.

"That's right! We'll send you off in style!" Garcia said.

"So when are you leaving?" asked Tony.

"Three weeks. And we will have a girls' night. I want to wait until JJ gets back from her honeymoon. I haven't told her yet, because I didn't want to ruin her and Will's big moment. I'll tell her as soon as she gets back." Prentiss replied

"Probably the best plan." Rossi agreed.

"London sounds fun." Breena spoke up. Palmer nodded and added.

"Dr. Mallard used to live there. You should talk to him about it sometime."

"I've lived there before to. My mother is a diplomat. We moved around a lot." Prentiss told them, leaving out the part about her CIA days.

"You'll be missed, Emily." Hotch added, with his usual stoic look.

"Thank you, all of you, for your support." Prentiss said softly. Then the subject was quickly changed to happier things.

When JJ was told the news about Prentiss's new job a week later, she was really sad that her friend was moving so far away, but understanding about her reasons and happy that her friend would have a lead position. A week before Prentiss was to move, the final girls' night while she was still in America was scheduled. While they waited on the drinks, Prentiss told the girls the part of why she was leaving that she couldn't say to the others. At least she told part of it. She wasn't about to explain the details of her history with Doyle to Abby.

"After coming back from WitSec, nothing about my life or the job seemed to fit anymore. I've been really trying to get things back to the way they were, to feel at home again. But I just can't. Too much has happened to me, and the harder I try to force it to fit, the more it doesn't. I'm not leaving the family. Just the job and the city. I won't let us lose this friendship. It's too important to me. Ok?"

"Hey...We understand, Emily. We love you and that won't change. We're always here for you, even when you're across the pond." JJ assured her friend, squeezing her hand. Just then, the drinks arrived. After taking a sip, Abby said,

"So, we should all start planning a trip to London now, right?" the others laughed, but Garcia said,

"Oooh! I like that plan! Let's make it this summer!"

"Um, perhaps we should wait until Emily has settled in before we all descend upon her." Ziva suggested.

"Let's see how fast I can get settled first." Prentiss added. The five women then talked and laughed for another few hours before hugging goodbye and heading back to their homes.

Not long after Prentiss left for London, there was a major national threat from a crazed man named Harper Dearing. He had held a grudge against the Navy since his son was killed in action. Abby called Reid one night, disappointed.

"Jimmy's Bachelor Party was messed up because of this horrible man, and now, we all have to miss his destination wedding in Florida. I was supposed to be his best woman. Now only Ducky gets to go with them. Palmer's crushed and the rest of us are really disappointed, too."

I'm sorry, Abby. I know you were all look forward to it. The bad guys never work on our time schedule." Reid tried to comfort her.

"I know. It just sucks." Abby sighed.

"You're safe, though, right?"

"Of course I am, Magic Man. We have eyes on the creep from every agency in the alphabet. I'm being careful and I've got Gibbs and the entire team to protect me. Quit worrying."

"Magic Man?" Reid questioned.

"Oh, that just came to me over the past few days after I watched you do magic with Jack and Henry. Is it ok? I don't have to call you that if you hate it." Abby responded, suddenly feeling insecure.

"Actually, I like it. Don't stop using it. But that means I need to come up with one for you. Is it ok if I think about for a while?" Reid replied

"Of course. And I know you'll come up with a totally amazing name for me. You're brilliant that way." Abby gave permission. Abby was then called back to work by Gibbs, so she and Reid said their goodbyes and hung up.

A few days later, Director Vance was abducted. They were able to find him in time, but they still hadn't found Dearing. The evil man eluded them at every turn. The team managed to catch one of the men hired to do Harper's dirty work, and he was taken into custody. It was later discovered that Dearing had planted a bomb in Vance's car. The car so happened to be parked directly outside Abby's lab. Gibbs found out that Harper's former stooge was the only person who could disable the bomb.

While the man worked at disarming the bomb, the evacuation process began in the building. As soon as Gibbs realized that Abby was in her lab, he rushed down to rescue her. He made it into the lab in record time. Abby looked up at him in shock as he rushed towards her. Abby felt him make contact with her body, as there was suddenly a loud KABOOM! Then everything went black.

**Well, now we are at the end of season nine of NCIS. The Bombing stuff will deviate a bit from the show. On the CM side, the whole Maeve storyline wont **

**happen because Reid and Abby are already together. Abby will be injured more severely than she was in the bombing on the show.**

**How much more severely? Tune in to find out. More to this story on Thursday. Thanks for reading!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hi, guys! This chapter will be more intense. There are some serious injuries from the bombing along with emotional trauma. Before I begin, I must address something. Abby Fan: I would very much appreciate it if you would stop bashing Tony and Ziva in every review you post. That's not what reviews are for. It's disrespectful to the show creators, writers, and the actors who work so hard to bring them to life. I am a huge Abby fan but I love all the characters, including Tony and Ziva. I believe every character in a story is important to the story. To say that nobody cares about those characters is unkind and untrue. Thank you for the reviews pertaining to my story. But please don't review if you are simply using the reviews page to bash the characters that are loved by so many. To everyone else thank you for your reviews. Please read AND review this chapter. Hope you enjoy.**

Gibbs coughed as the smoke cleared..

"Abby? Ya ok?" the only response was debris crashing around them and then silence. He rolled off of his surrogate daughter and repeated,

"Abbs? Can ya hear me?" There was still no response, and Gibbs noticed that her breathing was very shallow. Gibbs was scared but remained as calm and stoic as usual.

"Ok, Abbs. We've gotta get outta here. Can ya wake up for me?" Abby didn't even stir. Gibbs' gut told him that it would be dangerous to carry Abby out by himself. She was in no condition to be moved. Where were the others? Did they all make it out? He was glad that Ducky went with Palmer to Florida for the wedding. At least those two were safe. Gibbs looked up and saw the windows had been blown out. He ran over to the window and saw that the first responders were already starting to arrive. He found a stool and stood on it. He then called as loudly as he could,

"Hey! We need help over here!" He managed to attract the attention of one of the paramedics. The man rushed over to the window.

"Sir? How badly are you hurt?"

"Just some cuts and bruises. My forensics specialist is another story."

"Does she have any broken bones?"

"I'm not a doctor! She's unconscious, though. She's not responding to me. Can ya just get us outta here?"

"We'll need a backboard for your friend. Can you climb out?"

"I can. If' you'll give me a hand. I'm not leaving till you get Abby out, though."

"Sir, we really need to get you out, now."

"I'm not leaving Abby. Just get what you need and get us both out!" Gibbs demanded. Then he got down and went back over to Abby and took her hand. He stroked her hair, while the paramedic sighed and spoke into his two way radio.

"We need a backboard over on the east side of the building. Female victim. Unconscious."

"On the way." The voice on the other end replied. After what felt to Gibbs like hours but which was really only a few moments, a medic with a backboard showed up.

"It's gonna be ok, Abbs. You're gonna be just fine. Help's here."

"Sir. You need to step aside and let us do our job and help your friend. You need to get out of here and get checked over, too.", the medic said.

"I'm fine. There's nothing wrong with me." Gibbs shot back.

"You still need to get checked out to be sure." was the reply. Gibbs took one last look at Abby before kissing her forehead and standing up. He allowed two responders to help him out through the window and lead him to one of the ambulances. He saw Abby being loaded into the other ambulance and jumped up and strode over to it.

"Which hospital are you taking her to? I need to send someone to be with her until I get done here."

"Mercy Hospital, here in Quantico, sir. We'll take good care of her, but we need to go now. Every second counts. Gibbs nodded and backed away, watching as the ambulance took off with his Abbs. Then he made a call to David Rossi. He knew that Abby would want Reid there if he couldn't be.

"Jethro! I just heard. Are you safe? What about your team?"

"I'm fine Dave. Abby was just taken to the hospital. I thought Agent Reid would want to know. I can't go over there right now. I'd feel better if someone was there for her and could keep me updated."

"I'll alert Reid. And the others. What about McGee, DiNozzo, and David? And Mr. Palmer and Dr. Mallard?"

"Ducky and Palmer are in Florida for Palmer's wedding. They're safe. I don't know about the others yet. I was in the lab trying to get Abby out, but the blast hit before I could reach her. She's alive but unconscious and I don't know how bad the damage is."

"Damn." Rossi swore under his breath. Gibbs sighed and looked back to the medics who were now helping someone else. As that person was released, Gibbs said,

"Dave, I gotta go. The medics want to finish their checkup."

"Ok. Keep me posted. I'll send Reid right over to the hospital as soon as I hang up with you.

Then he resignedly let the medics finish his exam before heading in to check out the damage. None of his people had come out while he was being checked out. He needed to know they were ok. On the way in, he made it into the squad room and found several dead. He called out and was relieved when McGee stood up from behind his desk and said,

"Here, Boss!" Gibbs walked up to his agent and put a hand on his shoulder.

"You ok?"

"I think so." McGee answered.

"Where are DiNozzo and Ziva?"

"I don't know. Last I heard from Tony, he and Ziva were going to help evacuate the building. They could be anywhere." McGee replied, concern for his friends evident in his voice and all over his face.

"And Vance?"

"Right here, Gibbs. I was under my desk when it hit. I wasn't harmed. What's the news? Do you know where the members of your team are?"

"Abby's in the hospital. She was unconscious when they took her. Agent Reid from the BAU is meeting her there and will send me updates when he has them. Tony and Ziva's whereabouts are still undetermined. Palmer called just before I entered the building. Ducky had a heart attack and is in the hospital in Florida. Breena will stay with him and Palmer's on his way back." Vance nodded, all business.

"Is Abby going to be ok, Boss?" McGee asked shakily. Gibbs looked at the younger man and saw that the tremor was not simply from emotion.

"Tim! You're hurt!" McGee looked down and back up in shock. A piece of broken glass was protruding from his stomach and his shirt sported a huge red stain.

"You need to go to the hospital now." Gibbs ordered.

"What about Abby, Gibbs?"

"Abby will be fine. You worry about yourself. Get patched up and then stay at the hospital and wait with Agent Reid for news. I'll get there as soon as I can." McGee obeyed his boss and was taken to the hospital in an emergency vehicle.

At the BAU, Rossi announced the facts of the bombing in the roundtable room. Reid immediately insisted on being allowed to go be with Abby.

"Gibbs actually asked if you would do that and you are to keep him posted as well as us." Hotch gave his permission, under the circumstances and Reid began to gather up his belongings.

"May I go too, Hotch? I'll take my laptop in case you need my help on the case." Garcia pleaded.

"That'll be fine. Reid shouldn't have to wait alone. The rest of us are on standby."

"We will almost certainly be called in. The only question is when." Rossi added. The others nodded somberly. Then Reid and Garcia headed out to the hospital and the others stayed behind to await orders from the top. JJ made a call to Prentiss who made her promise to call as soon as there was more information.

At the hospital, Reid paced nervously and Garcia wrung her hands. They had arrived just as the ambulance pulled in. They had both seen how bad Abby looked. She looked almost dead, and it terrified the two FBI employees as much as it had terrified Gibbs. McGee found them about a couple of hours later after he'd been stitched up.

"Hey. Any word yet?"

"Tim! What happened to you?" Garcia asked in a worried tone.

"Got hit with a piece of flying glass. It took fifteen stitches but I'll be ok. What's the word on Abby?"

"They aren't telling us anything yet. They've been working on her for a while though."

"Tim, she didn't look very good when they brought her in."

"She'll be ok. We have to believe that. Abby would want us to have faith." McGee replied, hugging Garcia. Reid nodded in agreement and Garcia pulled back and smiled bravely. McGee suddenly realized that someone should call Luca and Abby's nun friends, but he chose to wait until they had more information.

Back at NCIS, Tony and Ziva were still unaccounted for. There were a lot of people searching the building for them. Gibbs and a few of the firemen were carefully searching the hallways, Gibbs stopped short.

"I heard something." He insisted. They were all quiet for a moment, and then they heard it. There were voices coming from inside the elevator.

"DiNozzo! David! Ya in there?" Gibbs called out.

"Yeah, Boss! Can ya get us out?" Tony replied.

"As soon as possible?" Ziva added, sounding both relieved and annoyed at the same time.

"We'll have you out in a few minutes." one of the firemen reassured the two agents.

After about twenty minutes, the elevator doors were pried open and Gibbs helped Ziva out while one of the firemen pulled Tony out. Gibbs hugged them both and cuffed Tony on the head.

"Glad you two are alright. Congratulations, Ziver." At her confused look, he added,

"Four hours in an elevator and DiNozzo is still alive."

"What about the others, Boss." Tony asked.

"Everyone on our team is accounted for. Ducky had a heart attack when he got the news of the bombing. He's in a hospital in Florida. Palmer's on his way back, but he left Breena with Ducky."

"What about Abby and McGee?"

"Abby was injured in the blast. She was alive but unconscious when she was taken to the hospital."

"But she's alive?" Gibbs nodded and continued.

"McGee got a shard of glass imbedded in his stomach."

"Will McGee be alright?" Ziva asked, concerned.

"He'll be fine. He was patched up and released. He's with Agent Reid and TA Garcia at the hospital. I got a call from them an hour ago he said that the doctor had spoken with them. Abby is in a coma. They suspect a concussion and perhaps a TBI, but they won't know for sure until she wakes up."

"When do they expect that will be?" Ziva asked softly.

"They don't have any idea." Gibbs replied, gruffly.

"Well, let's go. We can't just sit here!" Tony said.

"Why are you not already there?" asked Ziva in shock.

"Dearing's still out there. And you both were still unaccounted for. That's why I called Agent Rossi to send Agent Reid and why I had McGee stay at the hospital once he was patched up. We have to catch this SOB. For Abby and for all the others injured and lost in the attack." Gibbs replied, irritably.

"What do we do now?" Tony asked.

"Palmer should be arriving soon. He'll start the autopsies. You two can head to the hospital. I'll join you as soon as Palmer gets here. I have a meeting with Vance in five minutes, too." was Gibbs' answer. Tony and Ziva nodded and headed out. They called McGee on the way to update him and to see if he had an update on Abby. He told them she was still unconscious but holding her own. When the SFA and Gibbs' newest probie arrived, McGee pulled them both into a big hug. Reid and Garcia also greeted the two agents.

"So you were stuck in an elevator this whole time? How are you both still standing?" McGee quipped.

"Actually, it wasn't so bad. At least we both had company."

"Yes. I would not have wanted to be waiting in there all alone." Ziva admitted. Then she caught herself, and added,

"It wasn't horrible. Tony managed to act almost like an adult."

"Hey!" Tony said. Gibbs arrived after a while. He was, it turned out, just in time. The doctor came in and told them that Abby could have visitors.

"Sometimes it helps to talk to a person in a coma. But please only go in one or two at a time." the doctor said. It was decided that Gibbs would go in first. He walked up to the bed and took Abby's hand in his. She looked so frail in that hospital bed. So unlike his Abby. He hesitated for a moment before beginning to speak.

"Abbs. I'm sorry I wasn't in time to spare you this. We need you at NCIS. Need you in our lives. You are our sunshine. We need you around just because you're you. You need to fight! Don't let that SOB win. We're not gonna stop until we get this guy, Abbs. I promise you. Harper Dearing is going to pay for what he did! I'll take that monster down. You just focus on getting better, ok?" Gibbs gave Abby's hand one final squeeze and kissed her cheek before heading back out to give the next person a turn. A few minutes later, McGee came in.

"Hey, Abby. You have to fight! I can't imagine NCIS without you. I need your optimism and your love and support in my life. Please wake up. We all love you. Come back to us." The young agent kissed his friend's forehead and walked out to send Tony in.

"Hey Abbs. You remember how upset you told me you were when I almost died from the plague? Well, I'll be just as upset if I have to lose you. But I won't have to be upset. You know why? Cause you're a fighter. You won't stand for evil to win. So you can't die on us because that would mean that Dearing won. A lot of people are already dead. Palmer's swamped in autopsy because Ducky isn't available. Oh, Ducky'll be fine. Don't worry about him. But he just can't work right now. Don't make the Gremlin have to do your autopsy, too. Wake up. So we can tell you how much you mean to all of us." Tony then kissed Abby's hand and left so Ziva could have a turn. She hesitated before putting her hand on top of Abby's.

"Hello, Abby. You know that it is very difficult for me to speak about how I feel. But you have been a very good friend to me over the past several years. Especially after I returned from Israel and then after I was rescued from Somalia. I had not been a very good friend then, but you forgave me and accepted me back in your life. I- I never told you how much that meant to me. I do not trust people very easily. But I am very grateful for your friendship. You need to wake up. You cannot let Harper Dearing take you away from us. From your family." Ziva swallowed hard before adding softly,

"I cannot lose another sister." With that, Ziva gently brushed a strand of hair out of Abby's face and squeezed her hand before slowly walking out of the room. Reid came in next and, without touching Abby, sat down by her bed.

"Hi, Abby. I don't really know what to say. I just know I can't lose you. You make me happy. Happier than I've ever been. You are unlike any woman I've ever met. I've never felt this way before and I don't exactly know what to do with it. But I need you to wake up and get well again so I can have the chance to figure it out. So we can have that chance together. I know you have a 60 percent chance of survival. Don't let the other 40% win. Fight! Well, I guess that's all I have to say for now. I'll be back. Bye, Abby." Reid left, and Garcia came in.

"Abby Sciuto, We will NOT let you give up! We still have loads of girls nights and game nights and other fun stuff to accomplish. And you should know that our boy genius loves you even if he can't admit it even to himself. You have to fight. He's had enough people leave him in his life one way or another. Please don't be another one of those people for him. Your friends and family need you. Come back to us. Fight for them. And we are not going to let that icky Harper Dearing slip by us! He's going down! We won't rest till he does! In the meantime, keep fighting!" Garcia gave Abby a kiss on the cheek and left the room. Palmer came just before visiting hours were over. He told her pretty much what the others had said and then also gave her an update on Ducky.

"He'll have to stay at the hospital for a couple more days and then he'll have to be approved by a doctor before he can return to work. I'm doing the best I can to keep things running smoothly while he's gone, but I'm not Dr. Mallard. It's overwhelming handling things by myself. I don't know if I can do it." Then he told her how much they missed her and wished she come back to them. Lucas arrived after a while and Palmer left. Luca stayed with his sister for the entire night before Reid returned the next day to relieve him. Luca was talked into getting some rest so he would be able to be strong for his sister. Abby remained in a coma for several days. All the agencies from NCIS to Homeland Security worked tirelessly tracking down Dearing. The NCIS team members and the BAU team members took turns with Luca staying with Abby. After several days of involuntarily putting her family through a huge amount of stress and worry and exhaustion, Abby finally began to stir. Reid was with her at that point. When he noticed her moving and her eyes blinking rapidly under the lids, he quickly jumped up and called for a doctor. Then he grabbed her hand.

"Abby. It's Spencer. I'm here. You're in the hospital. Come on. Open your eyes. You can do it." The doctor rushed in and Reid told him what had happened. Then he ducked out and made a call. The person he was calling picked up immediately.

"Yeah Gibbs."

"Agent Gibbs, Abby's attempting to awaken. If you can, you should probably come."

"I'll be right there." Gibbs replied before hanging up. The others were ordered to stay behind and keep working. Abby didn't need a huge crowd while she was coming out of a week-long coma. It would be too much for her. They were all disappointed but agreed with the logic.

"Boss, you'll update us as soon as you know anything?" asked Tony.

"Yeah." Gibbs promised.

"Give Abby our love." McGee added. Gibbs nodded.

"Tell her we will come to see her as soon as we can." Ziva requested. Gibbs responded,

"Will do. Now, back to work. All of you." The agents quickly obeyed and Gibbs headed out. When he arrived at the hospital, Abby still hadn't opened her eyes. Gibbs stood at the foot off the bed while Luca and Reid stood on either side. The doctor stood next to the bed calling her name. After a few moans and twitches, Abby's eyes popped open and she frantically looked around.

"It's ok, Abbs. We're here. You're safe." Gibbs reassured the woman. Abby stared at Gibbs without a reply, but she seemed to be calming down at the sight of her father figure. The doctor spoke up.

"Ms. Sciuto? You are in Mercy Hospital. You've been here for the past seven days. Are you in any pain?" he received no response. Abby just continued to stare at Gibbs. Reid put a hand on her face and got her attention.

"Are you in pain?" Reid asked her. Abby nodded and pointed to her head. The doctor called the nurse to bring some headache medicine. Then he asked,

"Do you remember what happened to you?" Abby wasn't facing him, so again, she didn't respond. That's when the group figured it out. Luca looked his sister in the eyes and asked.

"Abby, can you **hear** me?" Abby's eyes filled as she shook her head. Then she lifted her hands and signed,

"Why am I here? Why are you here, Luca? Gibbs, what happened to me?

"You don't remember?" Gibbs signed back. Abby signed,

"No." Then she looked among Gibbs, Reid, and her brother with tears running down her cheeks and signed,

"Why can't I hear anything?" Reid, Gibbs, and Luca all just looked at each other. What on earth were they going to tell the Goth?

**Well, what's going to happen to poor Abby now? Will the hearing loss be permanent? How will she handle the stress of what happened? Tune in next week to find out! Thanks for all the support for this story so far! I am having fun writing it.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Here's chapter fourteen, guys. Hope you enjoy it. Please read AND review. Thanks!**

All was silent for a few moments. Then Gibbs shot a look at Luca ,who gave a nod. Then the team leader sat next to Abby's bed and got her attention. Once he had it, he signed,

_"Abbs, remember we were trying to catch Harper Dearing?"_ Abby nodded and signed,

_"Did you catch him? And that still doesn't explain why I'm here or why I'm deaf." _ Gibbs held her hands to still her and replied,

_"Still working on that. Do you remember after the Director was abducted that we caught one of Dearing's men."_ Abby nodded again. Reid came over and took her hand as Gibbs continued.

_"We discovered a bomb in Vance's car. He was parked right outside your lab. Dearing's man, Jonathan Cole, was attempting to disarm the bomb when it went off."_ Abby's eyes widened in terror.

_"McGee? Tony? Ziva?"_

_"Ziva and Tony were trapped in the elevator but they are out now. They're ok. McGee got a shard of glass in the stomach but he got patched up an he's doing good now."_

_"What happened to me?"_ Abby asked.

_"I got down to your lab as fast as I could when I saw you were in there. I managed to knock you down. but the blast still did some damage. apparently."_ The doctor approached, standing directly in front of Abby.

"Ms. Sciuto, there is a chance you hit your head when you went down. It may have caused a traumatic brain injury. We'll know more after we run a few tests." Abby looked terrified, but made the ok sign. The doctor left to set up the testing schedule. Gibbs called the rest of the team to update them. They all promised to visit as soon as they could. Palmer managed to make it to the hospital that evening. He knew enough sign language to hold a conversation.

_"How are things at work?"_ Abby asked him. Palmer shook his head.

_"Devastating. So many bodies. So much suffering and horror, everywhere I look. It's even harder having to handle it all alone."_

_"Alone?"_ Abby questioned, confused_._

_"Yeah. With Dr. Mallard on medical leave, I've had to take over the autopsies completely."_

_"Ducky was with you in Florida. Why is he on medical leave?"_ Abby demanded.

_"Nobody told you?"_ Palmer asked nervously. He was now worried that he'd stress Abby out and cause a relapse. Abby shook her head and signed,

_"What happened to Ducky?"_ When Palmer hesitated, looking at his feet, Abby lightly slapped him on the arm and insisted,

_"Tell me, Jimmy! Now!"_ Palmer sighed and replied,

_"Dr. Mallard had a heart attack on the beach. Apparently he got the call about the bombing and, well, I guess the shock was just too much."_

_"What? Why didn't anyone tell me?"_ Abby signed in annoyance.

_"Well, you have been out cold for a week."_ Palmer pointed out.

_"But I've been awake for hours!"_ Abby insisted.

_"Well, they probably didn't want to stress you out too much after you just came out of a coma. But you know now."_ Palmer reassured his friend.

_"Ducky will be ok, though. Right?"_ Abby signed, anxiously. Palmer grinned.

"He's already bucking against the doctor's orders. He's restless and wants to be back at work. Vance and Gibbs both are demanding that he not come back until he's cleared. Vance will insist on a doctor's note." Abby smiled picturing Ducky dealing with medical leave.

_"Well, he could come play checkers with me. I'm getting sick of being here already."_ was Abby's reply.

_"I'll tell him."_ Palmer replied with a chuckle.. Then Luca came back from getting food, so Palmer headed out. Tony and McGee both came by the next day on their lunch breaks. Ducky came by after lunch and entertained Abby with stories and checkers. When Ziva came by on her lunch break, Abby's mind was on the bombing. Ziva knew very little sign language. Abby had taught her a few signs over the years, but not nearly enough for a real conversation. But since Abby could read lips, she and Ziva worked out a way to communicate. Ziva talked to Abby, sitting directly in front of her, and Abby typed what she wanted to say into her phone and showed it to Ziva.

"How are you feeling?" Abby shrugged before typing,

_**'Scared, mad, sad, confused, all of the above. I just don't understand how someone could do something like this to somebody else.'**_

"He blames the NAVY for the death of his son. He wants others to hurt like he is hurting." Ziva responded. Abby glared.

**_"That is not a good reason for killing thousands of people. I'm sorry his son died, but that doesn't give him the right to blow up buildings and kill people."_**

"I know. It does not justify murder. But Abby, we are all working hard to catch him and make him pay."

**_'I always find a way to see the good in every situation. But, Ziva, I can't see anything good in this. I just want to be happy, but this evil man messed that up. I want good back again."_** Ziva put her hands on Abby's shoulders and assured her,

"I know you, Abby. You will find a way to be happy again. That is what we all admire about you. Do not worry. We will catch Dearing. We will not give up until we do." Abby looked at her friend and then hugged her tightly. Pulling back she quickly typed into her phone,

**_'Ziva? Kick. His. Ass!'_**Ziva simply nodded and gave her friend a meaningful look that promised they would do just that. Reid came in with Luca at that moment. Luca grinned as he signed,

_"Hey! Look who I found in the hallway!"_ Abby grinned and Reid went over to kiss her. Ziva smiled at the scene and then said,

"I really need to get back to work now. Feel better, Abby." Abby signed,

_"Thank you"_ which was one of the very few signs Ziva knew. Then she hugged her friend one more time. After Ziva had left, Reid and Abby talked for a while with Luca until the doctor came to get her for her tests.

Meanwhile, at NCIS, there was finally a lead on Dearing. He was holed up in an apartment nearby. Gibbs and his team and Fornell and his team went to the address provided. When Gibbs went in, he found Dearing facing the window. Gibbs got the man to talk about his reasons for committing the horrendous act. Dearing was prepared to kill Gibbs right then and there, but in a twist of events, the bomber ended up being the one to die. When it was all over and the paperwork was completed, Gibbs headed to the hospital to visit Abby. Abby was watching a movie with the subtitles turned on when he arrived. Luca and Reid were both there as well, but they left when Gibbs came in. Abby smiled and hugged the man. Then he looked at her and signed,

_"We got him, Abbs."_ Abby looked relieved as she hugged her father figure again.

_"It's over?"_ she asked, just to check. Gibbs nodded, and Abby looked up and crossed herself, thanking God. Soon, the doctor came back with the test results. Abby insisted that Gibbs stay and then texted her brother and Reid to return. When they got there, the doctor told them that Abby did in fact have a TBI. It had damaged her hearing.

_"Is it permanent?"_ Abby signed, with tears forming. Gibbs translated for the doctor, who did not know sign language.

"We don't know yet. There is a very good chance it is only temporary. I have worked several cases where the patients completely regained their hearing ability. Only time will tell." was the doctor's reply.

_"When can I go home?"_ Abby asked.

"You are cleared to leave tomorrow. However, I don't want you to stay alone. I would prefer if you had someone with you." was the reply. Luca, who had been translating spoke up and signed at the same time

_"I need to get back to New Orleans. I could take her with me, but she should be near her doctors."_

_"She'll stay with me." _Gibbs replied, leaving no room for argument. Abby sighed. She was grateful to Gibbs for wanting to take care of her, but she hated being a burden. Gibbs gave her a look.

_"No complaints, Abbs. You're staying with me, so I can keep an eye on you."_

_"Thank you, Gibbs. I just don't want to be in the way."_ Abby lamented.

_"Abbs, you could never be in my way. You know that."_ Gibbs assured her. Abby started crying, as Gibbs hugged her and kissed her head.

_"I'll come visit you every day."_ Reid promised, after Abby finally pulled away from Gibbs. The Goth smiled at the thought of that and kissed her boyfriend.

The next day, Gibbs got Abby settled in his guest room. He made sure she ate when she should and took her meds. Over the next few weeks, she had a lot of visits from both her NCIS family and her BAU friends. Garcia baked till it was almost overkill. JJ brought Henry over to cheer her friend sent her a star puzzle and told her the story to go with it during a Skype session.. Morgan, McGee and Tony brought her tons of DVDs to keep her busy. Ducky came over regularly for chess, and Ziva brought over some crosswords and jigsaw puzzles. Jimmy and Breena kept bringing food over, since Gibbs rarely had anything but steak and beer in his fridge. Even the Vance family and Fornell and Emily came by a couple of times. Abby appreciated all the attention she was getting.

At night though, it was different. Abby woke up Gibbs almost every night screaming from nightmares. Gibbs didn't like going too deep in their talks, so he encouraged her to get help or talk to Reid. She did that Gibbs was still the one staying with her in the night, so it didn't help much. She finally admitted that part of the fear and nightmares was from anxiety caused by worrying about her job status.

_"Gibbs, I can't hear. What if the Director thinks that will prevent me from doing my job? What if he fires me? I can't lose my job, Gibbs. I need my family. I need to work. This job is my life! I don't know what I'll do if I can't work at NCIS anymore."_

_"Abbs, Calm down. First of all, you are still on medical leave. Second, you won't lose your job. If we have to, I'll get McGee to set you up a light system so you get the alerts. You are perfectly healthy in every other way. Your other senses work just fine. You aren't going anywhere. Got that?"_ Abby nodded, looking relieved. Hugging the man_, Abby sighed before pulling back and signing,_

_"Thank you, Gibbs. You always know how to fix things."_ Gibbs just smiled slightly and hugged his favorite scientist again.

One day the next week, Reid was over for a visit. He and Abby were sitting on the couch watching a movie. Her head was resting on his shoulder and he realized how much he enjoyed the feeling. He realized that he needed to let her know how he felt. He got her to face him, then he signed,

_"Abby, there is something I've been wanting to say for a while, the feeling got stronger after you got hurt, but there was never a good time to bring it up."_ Abby looked at him expectantly and was rewarded as he signed four words that made her heart skip a beat.

_"Abby, I love you."_

**Wow! What do you guys think Abby's response will be? How long will Gibbs have to put up with Abby being in his house? Tune in Thursday to find out! Thanks for reading. Catch ya later.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hey ya'll. So for the last chapter, I did some research, and I did more for this chapter. I remembered something I either read or saw somewhere years ago. Sometimes TBIs can have delayed symptoms and sometimes different symptoms show up at different times. That's what happens to Abby. The chapter will be about how she deals with that and gets through therapy with the help and support of her friends and family. Thanks to all my readers and thanks for reviewing. Hope you enjoy this chapter.**

Abby looked at Reid. She knew she felt the same way he did, but was it really fair to him for her to expect him to stay with her when she could be permanently hearing impaired. What if she was never able to go back to work? What if he realized he couldn't handle her disability? Logically, she knew that hearing impairment didn't have to be a disability. Her parents were both deaf and they had raised Abby and her brother to adulthood. They both had held well- paying jobs and were very involved in church and the PTA. But Abby was also scared. Her parents had both been born deaf. They'd had their whole lives to adjust. Abby knew lip reading and sign language but she had no clue how to adjust to not being able to hear. And she didn't know if Reid was ready for dealing with a deaf girlfriend. She realized she needed to give Reid a response, but first she had to make sure he understood something.

_"Spencer, Are you sure? I mean, I don't know when or if I'll ever be back to the way I was before. I don't want you to figure out that my PTSD and my hearing impairment is too much. Are you sure you can handle it? Can you promise me you're in this for the long haul?"_ Reid looked in to Abby's eyes and signed his response.

_"Abby, I love you for you. You are still you whether you can hear or not. That doesn't change the way I feel about you. It never could and it never will. Do you trust me?"_ Abby looked at the profiler and nodded. Then without any more hesitation, she signed,

_"Love you."_ Reid pulled her in for a kiss, then the two settled back to finish the movie. Abby fell into a restless sleep close to the end. Reid's heart broke as he watched her toss and turn. When he heard the grunts and groans, he decided to intervene. He was about to gently wake her when she suddenly shot straight up and looked around in a panic. Reid couldn't even get her attention so he could sooth her. He kept a hold of her arms until finally the Goth seemed to sense that it was a friend who was holding onto her. She calmed down and met Reid's eyes. Then she collapsed into his arms sobbing. Because Abby couldn't hear him, all the agent could do was hold her until she calmed down. Then she pulled away and signed,

_"I feel like it's never going to get any better. These nightmares will never end!"_

_"They will. Just give it time, Midnight Princess."_ Reid tried to sooth her. Abby looked at him questioningly. Reid noticed the look and explained,

_"It came to me a while ago. It just seemed to fit your personality perfectly."_ Then Reid suddenly felt a bit insecure.

_"Is it ok? Do you like it? I could come up with something else."_

_"No! I love it! It's perfect!"_ Abby reassured the man. Then she kissed him and the two lapsed into silence for a few moments. Abby was the first to speak, or rather, sign.

_"Ya know, the Director and Gibbs are sending over some company shrink to talk to me tomorrow morning. He's talking to everyone, but Gibbs wanted him to talk to me first and since I'm not ready to get out yet, they're sending him to me."_ Abby grumbled. Reid tried to encourage his girl.

_"Maybe it'll help. Maybe this time you should actually keep an open mind and not shut down. The more quickly you find a way to move past everything, the sooner Director Vance and Agent Gibbs will let you return to work."_ Abby shot him an exasperated look and replied,

_"Spencer, the Doctor's name it Dr. Wolff. He'll probably live up to his name. He'll devour my innermost thoughts and declare me unfit."_

_"Just give him a chance."_ Reid urged. Abby sighed and got up. She headed to the kitchen to get Reid another cup of coffee and a CAFPOW for herself. She had just lifted the coffee pot to pour when suddenly she lost her grip and the whole thing smashed to pieces on the floor. She mentally cursed herself and quickly worked to clean up the mess. Reid heard the crash and came running. He rushed over to her and she turned to face him when she felt him behind her.

_"Gibbs is going to kill me! I broke his coffee pot and I broke rule twenty-three! Never mess with a marine's coffee. It's worse though. I broke a whole coffee pot!" _Reid tried to reassure his girl.

_"Gibbs is not going to kill you. It was an accident. Are you alright?"_

_"If you mean am I physically hurt, then the answer is no. I don't have any cuts. I just don't know what happened. One minute I was pouring the coffee and the next it was smashed on the floor. That's never happened before."_

_"Well you know statistics have shown that sometimes you can experience delayed symptoms with a TBI. They can appear suddenly even weeks later."_ Abby looked at her boyfriend, deadpan, and signed,

_"Not helping."_ Reid looked sheepish.

_"Sorry. I'll help you clean up this mess."_ He got a broom and the two began to sweep up the glass.

Gibbs arrived at that moment. Reid heard him come in and told Abby.

_"What happened here?"_ Gibbs said and signed. When neither answered, He walked over to Abby and questioned,

_"Abbs?"_

_"I broke your coffee pot Gibbs. I don't know what happened. I just lost my grip on it and my hand shook for a second! I'll get you another one. I swear!"_ Gibbs put his hands on her shoulders to get her attention then he replied,

_"Abbs. don't worry about it. It's alright. I know you didn't mean to. Ya ok? Did you cut yourself?"_ Abby shook her head and signed,

_"I'm fine."_ Gibbs kissed her cheek and responded,

_"Good. Let's get this mess cleaned up."_ It didn't take long to clean up the mess. Afterwards Abby fell asleep on the couch. Gibbs knew that wouldn't last long, so he walked Reid to his car and asked,

"So what really happened in there? Has Abby been shaky all day? Did you notice anything else unusual?" Reid shook his head.

"No. She seemed fine physically until a few minutes before you got home. She did have a nightmare right before that, though."

"Damn it!" Gibbs muttered under his breath. Reid continued,

"Abby told me about the psychiatrist you're sending over to talk to her tomorrow. Maybe he'll be able to help."

"If Abby actually opens up. You know how she is, Reid."

"I think I convinced her to give it a chance, this time. She wants to get back to work and this is the only way it will happen. She needs to move past this before she can do her job well."

"It's never stopped her in the past." Gibbs said with a shrug. It was true. Abby had been through quite a few harrowing experiences and always bounced back.

"This is different. Gibbs, I'm worried that she may be suffering from delayed symptoms of her TBI. Please keep a close eye on her."

"I will. I'll do everything I can to make sure Abbs is ok. So will the rest of her family."

"So will I." Reid assured Gibbs before getting in his car. The two men said goodbye and Reid headed back home. Gibbs went back into the house and saw that Abby was still asleep for the time being. He walked over and covered her with a blanket. Then he kissed her forehead and said softly,

"You'll be ok, Abbs. I promise. I'll make sure of that." Straightening up again, the man headed down to his basement, leaving the door open a crack so he could hear Abby if she needed him.

The next day, Ducky, who was still on Medical Leave, came over to stay with Abby and be around when Dr. Wolff arrived. He wouldn't be in the session. He'd just be nearby in case he was needed. Gibbs was wary of leaving Abby alone for too long since the incident early that morning. Abby had decided to make herself some eggs for breakfast, but she never actually put the eggs in the pan. She turned on the stove and left the empty pan just sitting there, while she went to do her morning routine. Gibbs had smelled something burning and rushed to the kitchen. He saw the pan and quickly moved it from the stove. Abby came back in and Gibbs interrogated her. When he reduced her to tears, he felt bad. He knew she couldn't help what happened.

_"Abbs, I think it's time we got you to the doctor. I'll make you an appointment."_

_"No, Gibbs. Not now. It was just a couple of little incidents. I'm just fine now."_ Abby protested.

_"Abbs, leaving an empty pan on a hot stove is not fine. It's dangerous. I'm worried about you!"_ Gibbs demanded. Abby looked at him pleadingly.

_"Gibbs please. If it gets any worse, I swear I'll let you make me an appointment, ok?"_ Gibbs growled and signed,

_"Alright, but you better let me know the first second if something happens. Understand?"_ Abby nodded. Then Gibbs made her some eggs along with some sausage for both of them. Ducky arrived not long after. Once Gibbs had left for NCIS, the other two play chess and some other games until the doctor arrived. Abby tried to be cooperative during the session, but she found herself struggling to focus. This frustrated both the doctor and the patient, Dr. Wolff asked if he should return on another day. Abby apologized for seeming uncooperative, But Dr Wolff waved a hand dismissively. Ducky had explained before the session that Abby had a TBI and therefore might have some concentration issues. The doctor told Abby that he'd schedule another session when they felt she was ready. Ducky walked the man to his car and thanked him for his understanding. Back inside, Ducky made lunch for himself and Abby and tried to cheer her up. Eventually the old man fell asleep and Abby decided to take a walk. She walked for quite a few miles around the neighborhood. When she decided to return to Gibbs' place, she suddenly realized that she couldn't understand the street signs. The letters didn't make sense. Abby spun around, looking for something familiar, but her mind wasn't registering anything. She was starting to panic. She sat down and tried to calm herself, before she face timed Ducky. When he picked up, she signed,

_"Help."_

"Where are you, my dear?" was the concerned response. He was talking, knowing Abby could read his lips.

_"Don't know. Lost."_ was the response.

"Can you hold up your cellular phone so I can get a look at your surroundings?" Abby nodded and pointed the phone towards the houses and the street signs.

_"I'm on my way."_ Ducky replied, reassuringly. Abby signed back,

_"Thank you."_ Then she sat down to wait. It didn't take long. Soon, Ducky's car was pulling up beside the curb. Abby got in with tears running down her face.

_"What happened, Abigail?"_ Ducky signed, with a gentle expression on his face.

Abby shrugged.

_"I went for a walk. When I was ready to come back, I realized I couldn't read the street signs and I didn't know where I was or how to get back to Gibbs'. Ducky, I was terrified!"_

_"I can imagine. But you're safe now."_ Ducky assured her.

_"I think, maybe I should take Gibbs' advice and get an appointment with the doctor." _Abby admitted

_"That sounds like a wise choice. If you'd like, I'll make the appointment for you for tomorrow. I'll even go to the appointment with you."_ Ducky replied. Abby looked relieved.

_"Really? Oh, Ducky Thank you!"_

_"You are quite welcome, my dear."_ Then he took her back to the house and did just as he promised. When Gibbs was notified about the appointment. he was relieved that Abby had finally made the right decision. He was also glad that Ducky would be accompanying her since he couldn't go with her himself. That night, something even more terrifying happened. Abby was asleep and Gibbs was in the basement working on his boat as usual. In the middle of the night, Gibbs was sanding the wood when he heard the door which had been cracked open, slam with a huge CRASH. Following that, there was a loud THUD on the floor outside the door. Gibbs dropped the sander and ran up the stairs. He got the door open with some hardship. On the other side, he found Abby in a heap. He helped her up and then asked,

_"What are you doing, Abbs?_

_"I was trying to find you. I figured you'd be in the basement, but when I got to the door, I guess I lost my balance and the next thing I knew, I was on the ground_."

_"I guess it's a good thing you've got that appointment tomorrow_

Gibbs replied, before leading the girl to back to her room. He sat her down on the bed and she turned to him and signed,

_"Gibbs, I'm scared."_ Gibbs pulled her into a hug and held her before pulling away and looking her in the eyes. Then he slowly and deliberately spoke so she could read his lips,

"It's gonna be ok, Abbs. You'll be ok. I won't let it be any other way. Got it?" Abby nodded and snuggled into her father figure for a moment. Then he gently helped her lay back down and she was soon asleep again. Gibbs said in a chair nearby and waited to make sure his favorite Goth would be ok.

The next day, Ducky arrived at precisely 8:30 to get Abby for her appointment. Gibbs rushed out the door to work as soon as the older man arrived at 9AM, Abby and Ducky were at the hospital for the appointment. He did some tests and then told them that Abby was, in fact experiencing delayed symptoms of a TBI. He also said that in time and with some therapy, she would be able to lead a normal life again, hearing impaired or not.

_"I'll set you up with a very good occupational therapist. You'll attend sessions three or four times a week."_

_"How long?"_ Abby signed. Ducky translated and Abby watched closely as the doctor replied,

"I might take a few weeks at least, But don't try to rush it. That could cause a setback."

Abby reluctantly nodded and then thanked the doctor. Then the two left to go back to Gibbs'. On the way, Abby texted Reid to update him. He was very encouraging about her therapy and even offered to drive her to the sessions. Abby agree and Reid began attending every session he was in town for with her. After a few sessions, he began to notice that she always looked longingly at an animal shelter they passed every week on the way to the sessions, He finally asked her about it one day. She considered brushing it off, but decided against that plan.

_"You remember I told you about my biological brother?"_ Reid nodded.

_"Is that where he works?"_ Abby answered,

_"Yeah. I never told him who I was, and I never went back after we met that one time."_

_"You know, you really should talk to him again. This time tell him who you are. You can never have too much family,"_ Reid asserted. Abby looked doubtful.

_"I don't know. What if he gets upset when he finds out? What if he doesn't want anything to do with me? What if he doesn't know how to communicate with me?"_

_"I'll go with you. You won't be alone. We'll go after your session today."_ Reid assured her. Abby finally agreed, so that afternoon, after the Therapist appointment, Reid and Abby pulled up in front of the animal shelter where Kyle Davis worked. Reid opened the door for her and she got out of the car. She took a deep breath and grabbed Reid's hand as the two of them walked into the building together.

**Well, Abby is finally about to unite with her biological brother. How do you think the meeting will go? How do you think she'll break the news to him? Tune in next week to find out. Thanks for reading and reviewing. Catch ya guys later. Have a great weekend!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Hi, guys! Here's the next chapter. Abby will meet with her biological brother and attempt to explain their connection. Please read AND review. Hope you all enjoy this chapter.**

Abby looked around after she and Reid had made their way inside. She saw a man at the front desk facing away from them. When she approached him, he turned around. Abby backed up nervously, still facing the man so she could read his lips.

"Were you looking for someone specific?" the man asked. Abby shook her head.

She backed up further and then turned and started to rush out. Reid followed, not knowing what else to do. Abby didn't know whether to feel disappointed or relieved that her brother wasn't in. Out on the sidewalk, Reid was about to sign to her, when he saw a man walking towards them that looked a lot like Abby.

_"Abby? Is that your biological brother?"_ Abby looked up and nodded, before signing nervously,

_"Yeah. That's Kyle."_ Reid wondered if he'd have to talk Abby out of simply bolting. At that moment, however, Kyle spotted them and approached with a big smile. He looked at Abby and said,

"Hey, I know you. You're the girl that held my Labrador puppy about eleven months ago." Abby gave a shy nod. Reid explained to Kyle that Abby had lost her hearing in a work related incident, so the other man signed,

_"Ya know, I felt that we had this sort of connection. I can't explain it, but I just felt like I'd known you all my life. I didn't know where to find you, so I was hoping you'd eventually come back here."_

_"You know sign?"_ Abby asked in surprise and relief. Kyle nodded,

_"I volunteered at a school for the hearing impaired in college. I also trained service dogs for a while, so I had to learn sign so I could communicate with the people who received our dogs."_

_"Well... you aren't wrong. We do have a connection. A bigger one than you think. Is there someplace we could talk?"_ Kyle looked bewildered but intrigued. He replied,

_"Um, sure. I was just about to go on my lunch break. Let me clock out real quick, and we could go to that bistro across the street. Is that alright with you?"_

_"Sounds good."_ Abby agreed. So it was that a few minutes later, Abby, Kyle and Reid were ordering food at Leonardo's Italian Bistro. After receiving their food, Abby and Kyle sat down at a small booth while Reid took his book and sat at a corner table, close enough to be available if needed and far enough away to give the siblings some privacy. Once Abby and Kyle and sat down, the latter asked,

_"So what do you need to tell me? What did you mean when you told me we had a bigger connection that I knew?"_ Abby sighed and said,

_Well, it's pretty hard to explain, so I'll just have to start from the beginning. Remember last year when you signed up to donate a kidney?"_

_"Yeah. How could you possibly know about that?" _ Abby looked directly at her brother as she responded,

_"Because I signed up to be tested, too. When the results came back, we were both a match. A ninety-eight percent match. The doctor thought we knew about each other. "_

_"What do you mean, she thought we knew about each other?"_ demanded Kyle, confused.

_"Kyle, the only way the match between us could be that close is if we are related. Very closely related. We are full-on biological brother and sister."_

_"Are you kidding me?"_ Kyle asked in shock. Abby's eyes started to fill as she shook her head.

_"DNA doesn't lie. I'm a forensic scientist. Believe me, I wouldn't be telling you this unless I was very sure."_

_"Why did you wait until now?"_ asked Kyle.

_"I was scared."_ Abby admitted.

_"Of what?"_ Kyle inquired. Abby shrugged.

_"Of you maybe not liking me and not wanting anything to do with me. Of disrupting your life. I mean for all I knew you had no clue you were adopted." _

_"I knew. But no one ever told me I had a sibling." _Kyle replied.

_"When's your birthday?"_

_"March 29th."_ Kyle supplied. Abby looked surprised and excited.

_"Mine too. What year?"_

_"1969."_ was the reply.

_"So we're twins!"_ Abby signed.

_"Wow." Kyle replied, in awe._

_"I actually just found out that I was adopted. I found out when the doctor told me that my brother signed up to be a donor. My brother I grew up with, Luca, lives in New Orleans. He wouldn't be signing up in DC."_ Kyle nodded.

_"That's gotta suck. Finding out that way. So how did you find out that you were adopted as opposed to me being given up by the people you knew as your parents?"_

_"Well, I just knew that wasn't possible. The loving, giving parents I grew up knowing wouldn't just give a kid away. So I tested a lock of my mother's hair that I keep in this locket."_ Abby then showed Kyle the locket with the picture. Kyle smiled and signed,

_"She's beautiful."_

_"She was. She died several years ago. My dad died when I was in college."_ Abby replied. Kyle squeezed her hand, then signed,

_"I'm sorry."_

_"Thank you. It just hurts that now I can't get them to explain why they never told me."_

_"Understandable."_ was Kyle's reply. They talked for a little while longer and then Abby signaled Reid over to introduce him. The three talked for a bit longer before it was time for Kyle to return to work. Right before he left, Abby asked him if he would be willing to go with her to meet Gibbs that night.

_"He's the closest thing I've had to a dad for a while now. He's been trying to get me to connect with you. I just really want you to meet him."_

_"I'd love too. Abby I'm really glad you finally decided to come back and find me again. And that you told me. I've always wanted a sibling. I was an only child."_ Kyle informed his sister.

_"And I'm totally thrilled to have another brother!" _ Abby declared. The two then hugged tightly before going their separate ways. On the way back to Reid's car, he signed,

_"Abby, I'm so proud of you. You didn't let fear stop you. Didn't I tell you it would all work out?"_ Abby kissed him before pulling away and signing,

_"You did. Thank you for being right. And thank you for being there, Magic Man."_ Reid smiled and replied,

_"Anytime, Midnight Princess, Anytime."_

That night, Abby took Kyle to Gibbs' house. She walked in and found him in his dining room.

_"Gibbs, I brought someone to meet you."_ She signaled Kyle forward and added,

_"LeRoy Jethro Gibbs, this is Kyle Davis, my brother."_ Gibbs held out his hand with a smile, but Kyle surprised him by throwing his arms around him in a hug.

"It's great to meet you, Agent Gibbs."

"Apparently, hugging runs in the family" Abby signed, stating the obvious.

Gibbs let out a snort and replied,

"I noticed." Then he offered them each a bear. Kyle headed to the kitchen with the older man to help.

"Sir, I understand you are the one who encouraged Abby to connect with me. I'm really grateful to you. I don't have any family near-by and I grew up an only child. Now to find out I have a sister just a few miles away...It's...incredible."

"Abby's a real special girl. You're lucky to have found each other. Never take it for granted." Gibbs advised.

"I won't. Thanks to you and Agent Reid, Abby had the courage to contact me and tell me the truth. I'll always be grateful for that." With that the two grabbed the beers and headed back to the living room, only to find Abby fast asleep with a smile on her face that Gibbs hadn't seen in several weeks.

"I guess she's finally getting better." Gibbs muttered in relief. Kyle smiled and said,

"Well, she told me a bit about the bombing and her nightmares. I'm glad she's finally moving past it."

"Partly thanks to you." Gibbs assured the younger man.

"Well, I'm planning on supporting her anyway I can. She's my sister. It's what you do for family."

"Damn right." Gibbs responded with a rare soft smile of approval. The two men clinked their beers together in a kind of toast headed to the basement to talk and let Abby sleep.

A week later, Abby was finally allowed to return to work. As promised, McGee set up a system so she could get her alerts without having to be able to hear. The annoying thing was that now, Gibbs could sneak up on her more easily. Abby still attended a couple of therapy sessions a week. Kyle had started going with her when Reid was away on a case. Her cognitive abilities had mostly returned, and her hearing was gradually returning. It was very subtle at first, then Abby could hear very loud noises. She could eventually hear talking if the speakers spoke very loudly. Then the day eventually came, when Abby discovery something amazing. She and McGee were working in the lab together on evidence and McGee mumbled to himself,

"Why would someone be dumb enough to leave the weapon at the crime scene?" Without realizing what she was doing, Abby replied out loud,

"I don't know, Timmy. Maybe for the same reason he would leave a jacket covered in the victim's blood at the crime scene." McGee spun around and looked at the Goth in shock.

"What?" Abby asked innocently. McGee was still staring at her with a big grin on his face.

"You just heard that?!" Abby gave him a strange look and replied,

"Well, yes Timmy. Why...?" Then Abby stopped short, realizing what had just happened."

"McGee, you just spoke under your breath!" McGee nodded.

"And I just heard you!" Abby continued.

"Yes!" McGee responded with a big grin. Abby threw her arms around her friend and squealed.

"Timmy, I can hear!"

"You can!" McGee repeated, excited for his friend. Abby quickly texted the others to come down to the lab and insisted it was urgent. When they arrived Abby screamed out,

"I can hear again!" The group broke into big grins and rushed forward to hug the girl. After the celebration ended and the others got back to work, Abby called Reid. when he answered she surprised him by saying,

"I can hear!"

"Abby! That's wonderful! I'm so happy for you!"

"Say it, Magic Man! I know you've signed it, but I want to hear the three words in your voice! Please." Reid smiled, knowing what his girlfriend wanted to hear.

"I love you so much, Abigail Sciuto. My Midnight Princess."

"I love you, too, Spencer Reid." Abby replied softly.

**Well, that's it for this chapter! Hope you enjoyed! More to come on Thursday. Only a few chapters left to come. Thanks for reading and reviewing.**


	17. Chapter 17

**Here's chapter 17. I'm including some material from Hit and Run and a mention of the case in the Criminal Minds episode, The Lesson. Please read AND review! Hope you enjoy!**

A few nights later, Garcia insisted on having a girls' night to celebrate Abby's recovery. Abby picked up Ziva on the way, thrilled to be able to drive again. Ziva smiled at her once she got in the car.

"Hello, Abby. How are you?"

"I'm great, Ziva! I can't wait for tonight! It's been ages since we had a girls' night out." Ziva chuckled and replied.

"It really has. You must be very happy to have recovered your ability to hear."

"I really am. Ya know, you'd think that since ASL is my first language, and both my parents were deaf, that losing my hearing would have been no big deal, right?"

"But... It was not." It wasn't a question. Ziva already knew the answer. Abby just shook her head.

"It was scary. I woke up and couldn't hear any of you. This strange guy was standing over me, and I had no idea what was happening."

"That is understandable. You were in a coma for an entire week. Before you were injured you could hear, and then you awakened to discover you couldn't hear."

"Or speak." Abby added. Ziva sighed sympathetically.

"Or speak." Abby looked at her friend and said,

"The doctor said it was probably psychosomatic." Ziva heard her friend's tone and replied,

"But you do not agree?"

"It's not that. I'm open to that, but the science part of me believes that the TBI could have had something to do with it."

"Well, you were able to talk as soon as you discovered that you could hear, so maybe the doctor could be correct in his theory?"

"Maybe." Abby responded absently. She had just turned onto the road for the bar they would be going to that night, so the conversation ended. At the bar, the two women got out and headed in. The BAU girls were already there, and Ziva and Abby were both greeted with hugs.

"Well, my two favorite non-BAU ladies, this is the newest member of our team, Alex Blake. The older woman put out her hand to shake Abby's and Ziva's.

"It's a pleasure to meet you both. I've heard a lot of wonderful things about you."

"Likewise. I've heard a lot about you, too. Especially from Spencer." Blake raised an eyebrow.

"Yes. Our resident genius is in love with NCIS' resident forensics goddess." Garcia announced.

"Ok. It might possibly be true." Abby slowly admitted, earning a look from Garcia, JJ, and Ziva. She quickly amended,

"Ok! It IS true! But he's the most amazing guy I've ever met! Well, the most amazing guy I've ever been seriously involved with anyway. He's perfect!"

"It is alright, Abby. We are really happy for both of you." Ziva assured her friend. JJ nodded and added,

"Spence really needs someone special like you in his life." Abby hugged both of the two women and then the group went to order their drinks. Abby opted for an Arnold Palmer, just in case some hinky after-effects of the TBI were lurking somewhere in her brain. They all opted out of Green Fairies, then had to share the story with Blake. Following that, JJ and Garcia went into the story of Brad the 'REAL' FBI agent and soon everyone was hysterical with laughter. Blake and Ziva and Abby then got into a conversation about lLanguages once Blake revealed that she was a linguistics professor. The only sad thing was the absence of Emily. Even so, it was a very fun night, right up until JJ's ,Blake's, and Garcia's cell phones all rang simultaneously. JJ looked at hers and groaned.

"Sorry, ladies. Duty calls. We have a case." The ladies all hugged and said good bye before heading their separate ways. Abby dropped Ziva off at her place and then drove herself home.

On the way, Reid called to say good bye. He was just about to board the jet. Abby loved that they got to do that. She loved that there was someone who loved her and who she loved enough that they called each other just to share words of love before one of them left town for any reason.

"Promise me you'll stay safe, Spencer! I don't know what I'd do if you got hurt! I mean, of course, I'd take care of you, but I can't lose any part of my Magic Man!" Abby begged in a rush. Reid chuckled a little and replied,

" Abby, Abby. Now you sound like Garcia every time we leave on a case. I promise to be careful out there. I love you, Midnight Princess."

"I love you, too," came the soft reply.

Reid kept his promise and returned home safely. But he had an interesting story to tell Abby.

"Our Unsub basically turned his victims into marionette puppets."

"Come on! That could never happen!" Abby replied in disbelief.

"That's what I would have thought, but it did." Reid insisted. Abby shook her head.

"How?"

"He broke their limbs and tied strings to them. He even had a theater." Reid responded somberly. Abby gasped and covered her mouth with her hand.

"That's horrible! Those poor people! Did you get there in time?"

"Well, we got there in time to save some of his victims. The Unsub had a very unusual ritualistic disposal technique. That's why the locals in Arizona called us in." Abby was interested, so Reid told her about it without revealing more details than he should. Then Abby let Reid pick out a movie and she made popcorn. The two of them settled down on the couch to watch the film and cuddle.

A couple of weeks later, NCIS got a case that hit close to home for Abby. The team noticed when she had trouble focusing and seemed to be daydreaming a lot. Not even Gibbs could get through to her. The one time he tried, Abby snapped at him, saying pretty hurtful things to him for the first time ever since they'd met.

"Abby, I need you to focus. I need you at your best."

"I'm trying, Gibbs! I'm working as fast as I can, OK?! I'm sorry I'm not perfect like you!" Gibbs stood still and silent for a moment, then slowly walked out of the lab. Outside the door, he turned back one more time and looked sadly at his Abbs before quietly walking away. The next day, McGee called Reid to see what he knew.

"Hey, Spencer. Abby's not acting like herself these days. We're all pretty worried about her. I was hoping you knew something."

"She hasn't said anything to me. In fact she's canceled our dates for the week."

"That's not like her." McGee said, concerned. Reid thought for a moment, then asked,

"Could it be something to do with your case?" McGee shook his head thoughtfully.

"I can't see how it could. It's really not that different than other cases we've had. But it did seem to start around the time this case did. And now she decided to take a personal day." Reid called his girlfriend and then hung up, shaking his head.

"She isn't answering her cell."

"Not for us, either, which mean's she's breaking Rule three- B." McGee replied.

"I'm going to ask Hotch for permission to leave early for lunch." Reid finally said.

"Gibbs has already given me permission to go look for her." McGee informed him.

"So we'll split up and each go check her favorite places. Whoever finds her first, calls the other person." Reid told the other man. McGee agreed, and the two headed out. It was McGee who finally found Abby. She was calling bingo numbers for senior citizens at her church." When she saw him, she asked one of the church ladies to take over, and slowly walked towards him.

"How'd you find me?"

"I might have pinged your phone." McGee admitted. Abby looked down at her feet.

"You know, Abby, There are a lot of people who are really worried about you? What's going on?"

"I'm sorry I upset everyone. I just...I had to get away."

"Abby, what's wrong? You know you can tell me anything." McGee implored.

"I can't, Tim. It's... too hard. You wouldn't understand anyway."

"Well, try me! Give me a chance to help you!"

"You can't. This isn't something that anyone can just fix." Abby insisted, before taking a small silk heart.

"What's that?" asked McGee.

"It came from a bear I had when I was a little girl. I traded for it with another little girl. Her grandpa had given her the bear and she loved it. But her grandpa and her dad weren't talking. Her mother died in a car crash. Just like the one from our case. I found the bear in the truck in the junk yard across from my church where I used to go and explore. It wasn't a morbid thing. I was just interested in the science of the crashes."

"So what happened with the little girl?" McGee prodded.

"I found out where the girl lived with her family so I could return the bear for her. She said she couldn't have it. That her daddy wouldn't like it. I tried to get her grandpa to make up with her father, but it didn't work. I couldn't fix anything. So I traded my stuffed rabbit for her bear. I wanted her to have something to cuddle. I wanted to do something, anything, to help. But I couldn't.

"Abby you were just a kid back then. No one blames you." McGee insisted. Abby's eyes filled with tears.

"No McGee. You don't understand. I didn't do enough. It wasn't enough. And if It wasn't enough, that means I'm not enough. And If I'm not enough, what am I even doing here?"

"Abby..." McGee began, but Abby just shook her head and, putting the heart in her back pocket, quickly walked away. McGee sighed and walked out. He called Reid and told him he'd found her and it wasn't good.

"I got the idea to ping her phone, but I didn't tell you because I didn't know if she'd actually have it with her or if she'd leave it somewhere as a decoy."

"Well, it is Abby, so I understand completely. But where did you find her? And what's going on."

"Abby was at her church calling bingo for seniors. Spencer, she's more depressed than I've ever seen her. I'm worried about her." McGee admitted sadly.

"I'll go over to her place tonight to talk to her. Thank you for informing me, McGee."

"Take care of her, Spencer. She's like a sister to me." McGee requested.

"I will." Reid promised, before hanging up.

A few hours later, back at NCIS, Gibbs found Abby sitting on the floor next to his desk.

"What're ya doing, Abbs?" He questioned. Abby looked up at him guiltily.

"I'm writing an apology letter to McGee for walking out on him today. I was going to write yours next." Gibbs nodded and sat down next to her. She took out the heart and told him part of the story about the bear, leaving out the details. She should have known that he'd already found out the story. She knew for sure when he pulled a narrow strip of paper out of his pocket. He showed it to her, and she recognized it at once. Gibbs smiled at her and said,

"You remember when you took me out for Chinese when you first started working here and after dinner they brought the fortune cookies and you gave yours to me."

"Yeah. It said, today's new friends are tomorrow's family. You really kept it all this time?" Abby asked in awe. Gibbs nodded, then asked,

"Do you remember what you said to me when you gave it to me?." Abby nodded.

"I told you that I wanted you to keep it 'cause I wanted it to be about you."

"Right." The two sat in silence for a few moments, then Gibbs leaned over and whispered in the Goth's ear,

"What you do for people, Abby...matters." Abby teared up as her father figure kissed her cheek before standing and walking away. She finished the letters and left them on Gibbs' and McGee's desks. Then she headed out to her car and drove home. When she got there, she was surprised to find Reid waiting for her outside her building. She stood there for a moment, stunned. Then she ran up to her boyfriend and threw herself into his arms.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry I worried you. I was all mixed up and I thought I didn't deserve to be helped by anyone." Reid pulled back and said,

"Let's go inside and you can tell me what's been bothering you." Abby agreed and she led him inside and to the couch. She made them each a cup of herbal tea, and then she took a deep breath and told the genius everything. He held her hand until she finished, then he pulled her close.

"Abigail Sciuto, I don't want you to EVER think that you're not enough. You're everything to me. No one can make someone stop feuding. And it wasn't your job, especially, as a child to fix that family's problems. Besides, you did give that little girl something. Something very special."

"What?" asked Abby, skeptically. Reid made her look at him before saying,

"You showed her kindness. Maybe it was the only kindness she had received in a while. You gave her something to hold onto. She knew you cared." Abby smiled as she thought about that. Then she curled up against Reid and the two enjoyed each other's company in the silence. Reid looked down at the beautiful woman in his arms, and he knew in that moment, he didn't want to ever be without her. He wanted to spend the rest of their lives together. Now all he needed to do was come up with a proposal plan that was as special and unique as his Midnight Princess.

**Well, that's it for this chapter. How do you think Reid will propose to Abby? There are maybe two or three chapters left of this story. Thanks for reading and reviewing! Catch ya Sunday.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Hey, guys. This is an eventful chapter. Hope you all enjoy it. Please read AND review. Thanks, DS2010 for the idea for the proposal.**

A few days later, on a slow day at NCIS, Abby was sitting in her lab looking at an invitation she'd just received in the mail. She looked up as she heard a voice call out,

"Abby? You in here?"

"Hey Tony! Over here!" Tony found Abby at her desk. When he got a look at what she had in her hand, he said,

"Oh. You got one of those too?"

"Yeah. It's an invitation to little Henry LaMontange's birthday party. Isn't it great? It's going to be so much fun. Spencer's going to do magic tricks."

"Fun's not the word I'd use for it. A bunch of sticky smelly, sugared-up, screaming kids running around? No thank you."

"So you're not going?"

"No way!" Tony said emphatically.

"He will go." said another female voice from behind him. Tony spun around and saw Ziva with McGee right behind her.

What?! Zi, come on! I am not going to a little kid's birthday party. You can't possibly be considering going.

"I am." Ziva stated simply.

"So am I. And I just saw Jimmy. He got an invitation and he's going.

"Yaaay! Ziva's going! And Tim and Jimmy! Come on, Tony! Ya gotta come. You don't want to be

the only one of us not going."

"Gibbs won't go either. And neither will Ducky."

"Wrong. Ducky was there when I saw Jimmy. He's been invited and he said he's looking forward to it."

"Fine. But you know Gibbs will never go for it."

"Go for what, DiNozzo?" Gibbs' voice suddenly rang out.

"Nothing, boss."

"He's refusing to go with us to Henry LaMontagne's birthday party."

"Well, Abbs you know Tony's always been scared of kids." McGee teased.

"I'm not scared of kids! They just don't like me!" Tony protested.

"Alright. Prove it. I dare you to attend this party with us." Ziva said with a smirk.

"Fine. I'll go." Tony grumbled.

"Yaaay!" Abby squealed, throwing her arms around Tony.

"Glad you're so happy about this Abbs. You better promise never to let those kids anywhere near me." Tony replied with a scowl. Ziva rolled her eyes.

"Don't be such a baby, Tony. It will not be that bad. Those children will probably avoid you like

the measles."

"It's plague, Ziva. They'll avoid me like the plague." Tony said, with a deadpan look on his face.

"Is anyone of you going to actually get any work done, or are you just going to sit around party planning all day?" Gibbs groused.

"On it, Boss." Tony replied. As he and the others aside from Abby started to head out. Before Gibbs could respond, his phone rang.

"Gibbs." he answered. The others stopped in their tracks and waited to see who the call was from. After a few moments, Gibbs said,

"We're on our way." before slamming the phone shut and walking out.

"Grab your Gear. Dead seaman at the docks. Get ready, Abbs."

"I was born ready!" Abby replied with a salute." On the way out, Gibbs caught up with DiNozzo and said in a low voice,

"By the way, DiNozzo, the party?"

"Yeah, Boss?" Tony asked.

"I'll be there." Then he walked into the elevator, leaving Tony staring after him in shock. The younger man snapped out of it quickly when Gibbs demanded,

"DiNozzo! Ya coming?"

"Coming, Boss!" called Tony as he rushed into the Elevator just as the doors shut.

Meanwhile, across town at the BAU, Hotch's team was working on paperwork. Reid leaned over to JJ and said, hey Jayge? Are you free for lunch today? There's something I want to speak with you about."

"Sure, Spence. Everything ok?" was the reply. Reid gave a small smile and said,

"I hope so." JJ looked like she wanted to ask more, but decided it was best to keep her mouth shut for now.

At lunch time, they headed out together and went to their favorite Deli. While they wait for their food, JJ asked,

"So Spence, what's going on?"

"Well, you know I've been spending a lot of time with Abby Sciuto for nearly a year. And we became an official couple a few months ago." JJ nodded, so Reid continued.

"Well, I've realized recently, that I don't want to ever be without her. I want her in my life always."

"Spence, are you saying what I think you're saying?" JJ asked with a hopeful smile.

"I-I want to ask Abby to marry me." Reid admitted with a nod. JJ jumped up and gave him a huge hug.

"Spence I'm so happy for you! You deserve this! This is so amazing! Did you buy the ring yet?"

"Wow. If I didn't know any better, I'd believe that you and Garcia had somehow switched bodies." Reid said with a chuckle. JJ chuckled as well and said,

"Sorry. I didn't mean to channel Freaky Friday. I'm just sooo happy for you!"

"Thank you. But it's not Friday. It's Tuesday. Although you do seem to be freaking out even more than I am right now."

"Spence, Freaky Friday is a movie. In the movie, a mother and daughter switch bodies and have to spend the day in each other's shoes." Reid didn't bother trying to figure the logic of that out.

"JJ, I have a plan for how I want to propose. I want it to be perfect for Abby. Would it be ok with you if I proposed as part of my magic act?"

"What did you have in mind?" JJ asked, amused.

"Well, I want to do the coin trick but I want to use a coin in the beginning, but it will come back as an engagement ring. I'll pull it out of Abby's ear and then I'll ask her."

"Oh, Spence, That sounds amazing. And she won't suspect anything at a kiddie party. Of course you're welcome to propose as part of the act."

"I'll only pull the ring out as part of the act I'll pull her to the side to actually propose. I don't feel comfortable proposing on stage in front of everyone and neither would she."

"I have no doubt you'll get the answer you want and you'll both be very happy."

"I really hope so." Reid said nervously. JJ gave him another big hug and then they finished their food and headed back to work.

Reid had a couple of things to do before he could set up the proposal. The First was to call both of Abby's brothers and let them know of his intentions. Both of them had met Reid. Luca was a bit concerned about his sister marrying an FBI agent, but he really wanted her to be happy. He also realized that she worked for NCIS and understood the dangers of the job. In the end, both brothers gave their blessing for the marriage. The next step was to talk to Gibbs. He would be even harder. He was after all, the closest thing to a father in Abby's life. He called the man up and asked if they could meet somewhere. Gibbs suggested the diner and so, a couple of hours later, Reid arrived to find Gibbs in his usual booth. The waitress came over and asked,

"What'll ya have?"

"Just coffee, please. Maybe a piece of pie."

"We have Peach, Pecan, Custard, and Apple."

"Peach is good." mumbled Gibbs, not skipping a beat or taking his eyes off the newspaper he was reading.

"Peach, then. Thank you." Reid told the waitress. She soon brought back his coffee with ten sugars along with the pie. Gibbs finally put down the newspaper and said,

"So why am I here?"

"Um. You chose this place, Sir." Reid squeaked out.

"No. I mean why am I here. What did you need to say to me that couldn't be done over the phone?" Gibbs clarified.

"Um, well, Abby always says you're like a father to her. I wanted to respect that by letting you know my intentions toward her."

"Elaborate." replied the functional mute. Reid cleared his throat and continued.

"Well, sir. I already spoke with her brothers about this but I want to, want to ask you for you blessing for Abby and I to get married. I guess I'm asking you for her hand, Sir." Gibbs scoffed.

"Kid, you don't need my permission to Marry Abby. Abbs's got a mind of her own. If she wants to marry you, you both have my blessing. She could sure do worse, but I know she could never do better. The best man I know for her is sitting right across from me in this diner.

"Thank you, Sir." Reid responded softly. He knew that a compliment like that from Gibbs didn't come along very often. Gibbs brushed it off and added,

"Take care of my girl. Or you'll answer to me." Reid gulped and nodded.

"Yes, Sir." The two of them finished their food and then Reid left to go back home, feeling as light as air.

The next day, Reid met McGee in the morning before work at a coffee shop.

"So you were saying on the phone that you're planning a surprise for Abby?" Reid nodded.

"I want to give her a proposal she'll never forget. You know her best of anyone other than her brothers and Gibbs, so I was hoping I could get you're help with few things." McGee slowly broke into a grin.

"Congrats, man! When are you planning to ask her?"

"Well, I'm planning on doing it at Henry's birthday party. The ring will be part of my act finale. But I'll pull her off out of the way for the actual proposal. Neither of us would want an audience for that moment." McGee nodded.

"Understandable. Have you chosen the ring yet?" McGee asked. Reid pulled something out of his messenger bag and showed it to his friend.

"Well, I actually have it narrowed down to two designs. I brought pictures, and was hoping you could help me make the final decision." McGee reached for the pictures.

"Alright. Let's see what you got." They looked over them together and finally McGee said,

"The one with the red stone in it and the black metal is totally Abby, but I keep being drawn to the one with the white diamond and the tiny skulls and the black roses all around. It just seems perfect all around. Classy, delicate, and gothic at the same time. And it's beautiful." Reid nodded.

"That was the one I was leaning towards too. It helped to have a second opinion though. Thank you."

"My Pleasure. Abby will love it, I know. You said there were a couple of things you need me for. What else do you need?" was the response.

"Well, I may need a little help setting things up that day. I was hoping to have some special effects." Reid then told McGee all about his entire plan. The NCIS agent agreed to help.

The day of the party, Reid got there early along with Garcia to help JJ and Will set up in the back yard. There was a flat put up as a stage for Reid's magic show along with some chairs set up facing it. There would be about fifteen kids coming to the party. Henry had invited his entire class as well as the BAU and NCIS crew. His grandmother, JJ's mom, was there as well. McGee came a little earlier than the others from the team so he could help Reid prepare for the big moment. Other than McGee, Abby was the first to arrive from the NCIS team. Hotch and Jack arrived next along with Rossi. Ducky, Palmer, and Breena arrived soon after ,followed by Tony and Ziva. Morgan came in right behind them. Gibbs, as usual, arrived at the party about half an hour after the others. The adults talked and snacked and watch the kids snack and play. After a while, it was time for party games. Rossi held up the piñata while Abby helped Spencer blindfold and spin the kids. Morgan and Garcia held the limbo stick for the next game. Ziva actually managed to talk Tony into helping with the Pin the tail on the Donkey game. Gibbs manned the fishing game and Ducky and Palmer helped at the bean bag toss. Hotch helped Will, JJ, and Sandy Jareau get the ice cream and cake ready. As soon as the kids had finished playing, JJ called out that it was time for cake. About half an hour after that, it was time for the magic show. The adults all helped corral the kids to the seats and got them settled down. Reid started the show with his first trick. The kids were enthralled as he performed amazing trick after amazing trick. He tried to hide is nervousness and anticipation over what was to come. Finally it was time for the grand finale. Reid asked Henry to come up and be his assistant. He had Henry hold his 'magic wand' and he took out a quarter. He explained that it was a magic coin and he was going to make it disappear. He asked Henry to tap on his closed fist with the wand and say the magic words.

"Abracadabra." Henry said loudly with a proud grin. Reid opened his hand and said,

"It's gone! Where do you guys think it went?" The kids all tried to give their guesses at once. Henry and Jack had seen the trick before, so they actually knew what would happen, or so they thought. They watched and tried not to giggle as Reid walked from child to child checking behind their ears and in their hair. Then he came to Abby and stopped right in front of her. In a professional magician tone of voice, he asked,

"Ma'am? Would it be alright if I check you for my missing coin?" playing along, Abby nodded and said,

"No problem at all, sir. Check away." Reid checked her pigtails before reaching behind her ear and pulling out...

"A ring!" the kids all shouted, before all talking at once. The adults other than JJ, Gibbs, McGee, and Will, all stared in various stages of shock and surprise. Abby for her part, was staring at her boyfriend with her mouth hanging open in disbelief. He lovingly reached for her hand and pulled her to her feet. The Goth allowed herself to be lead off behind a hydrangea bush while McGee, Ducky and Garcia took over entertaining the kids.

"Spencer is this..." Abby began when they were out of earshot of the others. Reid stroked her pigtails as he spoke.

"Abby, over the past year, I've gotten to know you and I've come to care for you in a way I've never thought possible. When I nearly lost you last May, I didn't know if I could go on if you didn't make it." Abby's eyes were filling with tears but she never took her eyes off of her boyfriend. She listened intently as Reid continued.

"Now I know I don't ever want to even imagine my life without you. I love you Abigail Beethoven Sciuto. Will you marry me?" Abby's eyes widened and she gasped while her hand flew to her mouth. Reid waited with baited breath for her reply.

**So what will the answer be? Tune in Wednesday to find out. Tomorrow I plan to write a one shot based on a prompt on Twitter. It isn't tied to this story in anyway. Thanks for reading and reviewing this story so far. Catch ya later. Bye.**


	19. Chapter 19

**Hey! Here's the next chapter. Hope you enjoy! Thanks to misspatchesmom for editing. Obiviously I do not own the characters from either show. I tend to forget ****the disclaimer on my stories, so there it is. Please read AND review. Thanks.**

Reid was getting very nervous as Abby struggled to find her voice. Finally, to his relief, Abby started to

nod her head. Then she managed to squeak out,

"Yes! Yes, Spencer! I will definitely marry you! I love you very much!"

"Really? You're saying yes?!" Reid responded, breathless with relief and love for his Midnight Princess.

Abby punched his shoulder lightly and replied,

"Of course I'm saying yes, silly! There is no other answer! You're my life, Magic Man. I love you more than anything in the world!" With that,the Goth threw herself into her

boyfriend's arms. Reid chuckled and replied,

"I love you, too. But I think it's time to put this on your finger."

"Oh, yes!" Abby excitedly agreed. Spencer gently took her hand and slid the ring on her ring finger, before kissing her deeply. After they'd pulled apart, Abby examined her ring and said softly,

"It's absolute perfection, Spencer! You know me so well."

"And I'm looking forward to knowing you even better." came the sly reply.

"So am I, babe. So am I!" Abby replied with a wag of her eybrows and a sly smile." They suddenly remembered

where they were, and saw the others waiting impatiently for the results. Reid gave a smirk and said,

"Hey, you want to have some fun with the others?" Abby caught on quickly.

"Oh, yeah." They quickly made a plan. Abby headed back to the others first with serious look on her face and

sat down in one of the chairs. Reid came out a few minutes later with a dejected expression. Morgan

immediately approached the man.

"What happened back there, kid?"

"Yeah. Didn't you ask her? What did you do to piss her off? Did you totally botch up the moment by

saying something nerd-like?" Tony asked. This earned him a Gibbs-slap.

"Leave the man alone, DiNozzo."

"Yes, Boss." was the reply.

"I asked her." Reid stated snarkily.

"And?" Garcia asked, timidly, as she looked over at the still stone-faced Abby. Reid decided to end the charade at that moment and signaled to his fiance.

"And..."

"I said yes!" Abby squealed as she ran over towards Reid and the others. She held up her hand to show

off the ring as everyone cheered. There were hugs all around. The boys, who had been playing out in the yard since the show ended, ran over to the group.

"Uncle Spence! Are you married now?!" Henry asked. Reid and Abby chuckled as did the rest of the

adults.

"Not yet, Buddy." Reid answered his Godson.

"But we are engaged." Abby added.

"What's engaged?" Jack asked.

"It means that Abby agreed to marry me. Now we chose a date. A special day to get married, just like

your mom and Dad did a few months ago." Reid explained. Henry seemed to understand that and so did Jack. The two boys ran up and hugged the newly engaged couple.

"Best birthday ever! Thanks Uncle Spence!"

"My pleasure, Henry." Reid replied, with a grin.

"Thanks for coming to my party, Aunt Abby." the little boy said, hugging the scientist once again. Abby smiled at Henry.

"You're welcome, Honey! Your birthday is now the best day of my life, too." Henry cocked his head to one side and asked.

"Cause you're marrying Uncle Spence?"

"Exactly." Abby agreed. The boys went back to their game after that until it was time to open presents.

Henry loved all his gifts but by far his favorites were the book of science expermiments from Abby and his junior agent kit from Garcia, along with the junior chemistry set from Reid. While the boy was enjoying his new toys, Gibbs went over to Abby and pulled her into a big hug, which she readily returned.

"Happy for ya, Abbs. You've got yourself a good man. Never take your life together for granted."

"I won't. I won't ever take anything for granted. This kind of love doesn't come around everyday. I know

that. But, Gibbs?" Gibbs pulled back and said,

"Yeah, Abbs?"

"You will give me away at my wedding right?"

"What about one of your brothers?" Gibbs asked just to make sure.

"Well, I love them. But they're my brothers. Not my dads. You're the closest thing to a dad, I've got. So will you? Give me away? Walk me down the aisle? Please?" Abby pleaded. Gibbs looked her in the eye for a few moments then nodded with a soft smile.

"If that's what you want, Abbs. I'd be honored. Abby smiled back and threw her arms around the team leader in a tight hug."

"Thank you, Gibbs." Gibbs just hugged more tightly in response. Soon after that, Abby and Reid left to have a special date together to celebrate their engagement.

The next day at lunch, Reid told Abby,

"We need to call Emily."

"Oh, yeah! How about now? I have my laptop with me." Abby suggested. Reid agreed, so they hooked up to the wifi and tried to connect with Emily. Fortunately, she was available.

"Hey, you two! How are you? "

"Hi, Emily. We're both great."

"Better than great, actually." Abby added. Emily immediately suspected something was up.

"Oh really. What's going on?" Abby responded by holding up her hand that had the ring on it.

"Oh my gosh! Reid, you proposed?! When?!"

"At Henry's birthday party. I wanted to surprise everyone. Especially Abby. It worked too. The only two

that knew were JJ, because it happened at Henry's party, and McGee because he helped me set the

whole thing up. Actually that's not quite true. Gibbs knew because I asked him for Abby's hand." Abby

looked at Reid in surprise. She hadn't known about that.

"Awww. That's wonderful, you guys. I'm so happy for you. Let me know when you set a date. I'm

definitely getting time off for that. I wouldn't miss it for the world." Emily promised.

"Definitely. Em! And you should come a couple of days before so you can be around for the bachelorette party!"

Abby told the other woman, excitedly.

"That sounds like a lot of fun. I'll do my best." said Emily.

"It'll be good to see you again, Emily."

"Likewise, handsome." was the reply. Reid smiled and squeezed Abby's hand. Then Abby saw the clock on the

computer and sighed.

"We have to go. Lunch is almost over and we both have to get back to work."

"Understood. Well, thanks for calling. We'll talk more soon."

"Definitely. Bye Emily." Abby said cheerfully, and Reid added,

"Goodbye, Emily. Take care." Emily responded,

"Same to you guys! Love you."

"Love you!" Abby and Reid replied together. Then they ended the session and paid the bill, before

heading back to Quantico.

A few days later, there was another girls' night to plan Abby's wedding.

"What colors do you want?" JJ asked.

"Please do not say black." Ziva begged.

"Ok. So how about burgandy and silver?" Abby's long time best friend, Carol Wilson suggested

"That actually sounds super pretty." Abby admitted.

"That sounds totally exquisite!" agreed Garcia.

But, I want my bouquet to be black roses." Abby insisted.

"Alright, that is an acceptable compromise." Ziva gave in.

"What about the venue?" Breena asked.

"My church. I've already cleared it with Father O'Malley." Abby informed her.

"So do you have a date set then?" Carol asked. Abby nodded.

"Yes. Spencer and I decided that last night. It's going to be October fifteenth. That's the one year

anniversary of the day we first met. Even though it got off to a rocky start, we never would have had the

chance to meet and eventually fall in love if it wasn't for that case last year."

"That's so romantic." Breena gushed.

"I want to ask you all something. JJ I know Spencer asked you to be a grooms' matron along with Morgan, Hotch, Rossi, and Jimmy. McGee's already been asked to be my man of honor, but I would really love the rest of you to be my bridesmaids. Will you?" Garcia was the first to hug her friend.

"Goth warrior, I would be greatly honored."

"Of course, I accept,Abby." Ziva said as she hugged her friend, as well. Breena and Carol both accepted, too. After

the round of hugs, JJ asked,

"Abby, have you met his mother yet?" Abby looked at the floor nervously.

"Um, no. Not yet. Spencer and I are flying to Vegas this weekend. I hope she'll approve. What if she

thinks I'm too wierd or scary or wild for her son?" Garcia squeezed her friend's hand and Carol came over and put an arm around her friend.

"Well, she's been having alot more good days lately according to Spence."

"Yeah, he told me that." Abby replied.

"Abby, she's schizophrenic. If she doesn't respond well to you the first time, don't take it personally, and

don't be too worried. That's just the disease talking. Ok?" JJ assured the woman. Abby nodded. She felt

only a little bit better. In two days, she would be meeting her future

mother-in-law. All she could do was pray and hope for the best. After all, she had no choice.

**So, Abby is about to meet Dianna Reid. How will that go? Tune in Sunday to find out. Thanks for reading!**


	20. Chapter 20

**Hi guys. To Huge Abby Fan: I am truly sorry if I offended you. Deleting your review was an accident. I must have clicked on the wrong guest review and deleted yours by mistake. Please forgive me. I let your recent one go through. Anyway, Here's the next chapter. Two more left after this. Hope you enjoy. Please read and review! Thanks.**

Morgan drove Abby and Reid to the airport early in the morning on the first Saturday in October. The couple planned to stay in Vegas until late the following afternoon so they could be back at work Monday morning.

"Thanks, Morgan." Reid said after Morgan had helped get the suitcases out of the trunk.

"No problem, Pretty Boy. You two behave yourselves in Vegas. Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"Good. That gives us plenty of leeway." Abby quipped.

"Ha ha. Very funny, Gothic Genius." came the sarcastic reply. Abby grinned and said.

"Hey, I like that."

"Morgan has a nickname for every one of us except for Hotch and Rossi. He has several for Garcia. She has several for everyone." Reid informed her. Abby chuckled.

"Well, I'll probably be getting mine soon, then."

"Most likely. Baby Girl usually has to get to know a person for a bit before she comes up with a name for them." agreed Morgan.

"True." Reid replied.

"We'd better get going, Magic Man. We don't wanna miss our flight." Abby urged her fiancé.

"Right. Thanks again for the ride, Morgan. I'll see you at work on Monday." McGee was picking the two up from the airport upon their return the following night.

"K, Kid. Bye Abby. Have a safe trip." Abby hugged the man and replied,

"Thanks Derek." Morgan gave Reid a fist bump and then got in his car and drove off. Abby and Reid carried in their bags and got checked in. Then they grabbed a quick bite of breakfast and waited to board. It wasn't long before their group was called. Soon they were on their way to Vegas. Once they landed a few hours later, they immediately got a cab. They only had carry-ons so they didn't even need to stop at the baggage claim. They got checked into their hotel room and dropped their stuff off, before catching a cab to Bennington.

They walked in and immediately found Dr. Norman.

"Dr. Reid. Nice to see you again."

"Hello, Dr. Norman. This is my fiancé, Abby Sciuto." If Dr. Norman was shocked or concerned by the woman's appearance, He didn't say so. Of course, Abby had settled on her yellow, black and red plaid pants and black shirt and was wearing a black collar with red rhinestones instead of a spiked one. She still had on her platform boots, but all in all, her outfit was pretty tame for her. She smiled and shook the doctor's hand.

"Nice to meet you, Doctor."

"The pleasure is mine Ms. Sciuto. And congratulations on your upcoming marriage. Dr. Reid is one of the finest young men I know." Abby replied,

"Well, I think he's pretty special." Making her fiancé blush slightly.

"Well, I'm sure you didn't come all the way here just to see me." Dr. Norman said.

"How is she, Dr. Norman?" Reid asked nervously.

"Well, she had one of her episodes this morning. We had to sedate her. You may try and see her, though. I just don't know how she'll respond, so be prepared." Reid gave a nod as his only response. Abby looked at him sympathetically and took his hand. Together, the two walked to Dianna's room. When they reached the room, they found her sitting in a chair staring at the tv.

"Mom?" ventured Reid. When the older woman didn't respond, he tried again, louder.

"Mom?" She looked around and at least seemed to recognize him.

"Spencer? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at school?" He cast a sad look at his fiancé. He knew not to try and convince his mother that he was actually an adult and hadn't been in school for years. He simply said,

"It's Saturday, Mom."

"Oh. Really? The days just seem to blend together lately, don't they." replied Dianna. Then she suddenly seemed to notice Abby.

"I didn't realize that you'd be bringing a girl home. Is this your new study partner?" Reid looked uncomfortably at his bride-to-be, then he cleared his throat and said,

"Um, yes. We're heading to the library but I wanted to grab a snack first."

"No junk food. You'll spoil your supper." Dianna admonished.

"Yes, Ma'am." Reid replied softly, trying to hide his disappointment.

"It was nice to meet you, Mrs. Reid." Abby said.

"Likewise, Abby."

"I'll be back later, Mom." Reid said

"Have a nice time, sweetheart." was the reply. Reid's eyes fill with tears and he turned and walked out, with Abby following quickly behind. As soon as they were out of the building, Abby spun Reid around and pulled him into a tight hug.

"I'm so sorry, Hon. I know you must be really crushed." Reid didn't speak for several minutes, as he remained in Abby's arms, gathering strength from her love and tried to regain some control of his emotions.

"I- I just thought, well...hoped that this time would be different. I wanted to share the single most happy moment of my life with her, and introduce her to the most important person in my life. I really hoped that she'd be having a good day. That she'd be alert."

"I know, Spencer. But we can come back tomorrow, right? She might be having a good day by then." Abby said, encouragingly. Reid sighed.

"There's no guarantee."

"But there's hope. There is always hope. Now come on. Why don't you show me around the city?. We've got the time now. Then, tomorrow we'll come back here, first thing. Ok?" Reid hesitated, then managed a small smile.

"Ok. Thanks, Midnight Princess. Thank you for loving me and supporting me." Abby looked him in the eye.

"I do love you. That's why I support you, and I always will."

"I love you, too." Reid replied, before kissing the love of his life. Then the two of them headed out to paint the town red. They found a food truck and stopped for lunch. Then, they went to a couple of casinos that Reid had not yet been banned from and caught a show at Caesar's Palace. By that time, it was supper-time, so they stopped at the Hardrock cafe and ate a delicious meal. After looking around the gift shop and buying tee-shirts for their friends back home, they headed back to the hotel to relax. The next day, right after breakfast, the couple headed back to Bennington. They went straight back to Dianna's room. Luckily, this time, they found her in a much better frame of mind.

"Hey, Mom." Reid said tentatively. Abby laid a supportive hand on his shoulder. Dianna looked up and smiled.

"Spencer. What are you doing here? Do you have a case?"

"No, Mom. I came because I want you to meet someone." Dianna's eyes lit up.

"Is this someone special?" she asked. Reid nodded. He pulled Abby close and said,

"Mom, this is Abby Sciuto. She is the forensics specialist at NCIS in DC. We met on a joint case."

"It's lovely to meet you, Ms Sciuto."

"Likewise, Mrs. Reid." Abby replied, leaving out the fact that they had, in fact, met the day before.

"Please, call me Dianna. I have the feeling we're going to be family really soon." Reid looked at his mother, wondering how she still managed to surprise him.

"You're right, Mom. Abby and I, well, we're engaged to be married. The wedding is in two weeks."

"How did you know?" asked Abby, in awe. Dianna looked at the younger woman and replied, simply,

"A mother knows."

"We chose the date because it was the day we met last year."

"That will make it easy to remember. Oh, darling. How I wish I could be at your wedding."

"You couldn't get away for just one day?" Abby asked.

"I don't think so. I'm not at all fond of flying."

"Mom doesn't do well on planes." Reid told his fiancé.

"That's too bad. Well, maybe we could set up something." Abby suggested.

"What do you mean?" asked Reid.

"Well... I don't know yet. I have an idea, but I need to make a couple of calls." Abby said mysteriously. Reid looked at his mother and shrugged, but he didn't question his favorite Goth any further. The three talked and enjoyed being together right up until it was time for Abby and Reid to head to the airport. At that point Abby and Reid both hugged Dianna good bye, and promised to come visit again as soon as they could. Then they left the hospital, saying good bye to Dr. Norman on the way out. Several hours later, they were met by McGee at the airport in DC. Abby rushed to hug her friend and Reid followed her.

"Thanks for picking us up, McGee." Reid said. McGee smiled.

"No problem. How was your trip?"

"It was pretty good. Mom had an episode yesterday, but we got to have a nice visit today." Reid replied.

"That's good. Abby did you and Mrs. Reid get along ok?"

"Yeah. She's really interesting to talk to." Abby responded. The three then headed out to McGee's car and he drove them home, dropping Reid off first. After he was in his apartment, the other two drove towards Abby's place.

"McGee. I have an idea for something special I want to do for Spencer. I'm gonna need your help though."

"Alright. What is it?" McGee inquired. Abby told him of her plan and at the end, he grinned and replied,

"It's perfect. I know some guys in the area who can work it out for you guys."

"Really? Oh, Thank you so much, Timmy! You are the best!"

"I'll make some calls." Abby kissed his cheek, which made him smile as usual. He loved making his friend happy. Soon, they were at Abby's apartment building. Abby grabbed her bag out of the trunk and then went into her apartment after telling McGee she'd see him at work the next day.

A couple of days later, Abby was at the bridal shop with JJ, Garcia, Ziva, Carol, and Breena. JJ was there even though she was standing up with Reid, because she was looking for a dress to match the guys' tuxes. McGee was going to get a tux that would match the bridesmaids' dresses. Abby's and Reid's colors were burgundy and black. JJ found a beautiful tea-length dress that was black with a burgundy sash. The other girls looked until they found dresses that fit Abby's style for the wedding perfectly, but still looked good on them. The dresses were long flowing skirts with lace tops and capped sleeves. Abby declared them perfection. She took a little longer to find her perfect dress, but eventually she came across a gorgeous Victorian style lace floor length dress with a long old-fashioned train. It was cream colored. Ziva found a veil that matched. When she came out of the dressing room, there was silence for several moments before Garcia was the first to find her voice.

"Oh, wow. You. Look. Beyond. Amazing, Goth Wizard."

"Oooh! I have a new nickname now, too! That's totally rad! And you really think this dress works?"

"Abby, it does not only work. It is THE dress for you. You could not have found a more perfect dress if you had chosen to have it made for you." Ziva insisted.

"Ziva's right. It's incredible." JJ agreed.

"You look like a Victorian princess, Abby." Breena added.

"Alright. I'm totally getting this, then." Abby decided. After paying for the dresses, the next item on the agenda was shoes. Abby chose a pair of flats. She couldn't walk in heels and her platforms just wouldn't work for wedding shoes. The others found shoes that could be dyed to match the dresses, except for JJ who found a pair of black pumps right away. When they stopped for lunch, Abby turned to Ziva and said,

"Hey Ziva? Spencer and I decided on a song to be sung at our wedding. We were wondering if you would sing it."

"Me?" Ziva asked, surprised.

"Yes. Ziva, I've heard you sing. You have an amazing voice. In fact, your voice is perfect for the song we have in mind."

"What is the song?" Ziva replied.

"We were hoping you'd sing Bette Midler's I Put a Spell on You." Abby told her.

"I know that song. I would be honored to sing it on your special day." Ziva agreed. Abby gave her a huge hug and said.

"Awesome! Thank you, Ziva!"

"You are very welcome. I think I will enjoy singing a Bette Midler song." Soon after that, the food arrived, so the six women settled down to eat.

That following Sunday afternoon, it was the day of the bridal shower. Breena was hosting it, and Ziva, Penelope, JJ, and Carol worked together with her to help plan. They had black lace table linens and some old fashioned candle sticks decorating the tables. They had several healthy food choices as well as chocolate raspberry cupcakes and punch. Abby was touched that so many of her friends showed up. Among the guests were her bowling nun friends and Section Chief Strauss, who was making a valiant effort to be much kinder to the BAU team.

Abby opened her presents to find beautiful china with a gothic pattern called Adelaide from JJ. She received some blue Medieval style bath towels from Breena. From Garcia she received beautiful red and black bed linens. Ziva gave her some white and black flower patterned damask table linens. Carol gave her black lace patterned everyday dishes. From the nuns, she received a set of cooking pots and pans. Chief Strauss gave her a set of silver. From the other guests there was an wide array of bed, bath, and kitchenware. Abby would be well stocked when she and Reid started their life together.

"Thank you all so much!" Abby said to her friends. Then she gave hugs all around.

Before she knew it, it was already a couple of days before the wedding. It was also the night of the bachelor/bachelorette parties. McGee was going to the bachelor party, even though he was the Man of Honor for Abby. Likewise, JJ would be attending the bachelorette party. Morgan took into account Reid's tastes, so the bachelor party was fairly tame. They went to a bar and had drinks and played pool. Reid of course creamed everyone there in the game.

The bachelorette party was held at a different bar. The girls drank and did karaoke. They all got a little drunk, except Breena who opted to be the designated driver.

The men didn't fare much better in that department. Even Palmer got smashed. Ducky didn't get drunk, but his car wasn't nearly big enough to carry all of them. Rossi offered to let a lof them to stay the night at his place since it was the closest and also the biggest. Ducky was still able to drive, so he drove Palmer home and helped Breena get him settled before heading home to bed himself. It had been one wild and interesting night, but they all knew they would be paying for it the next day. It was a good thing the wedding wasn't until the day after that.

**Well, that's it for this chapter. Next up, the rehearsal, wedding, and the reception. Thanks for reading! And thanks to misspatchesmom for editing! Bye for now. Catch ya on Wednesday!**


	21. Chapter 21

**Well, Here's the chapter some of you have been waiting for. The chapter with the wedding! Hope you all enjoy! Please read and review. Thanks!**

The next morning, most of the agents and government employees had major hangovers, but Emily was coming in later that day, since the rehearsal dinner was that night. After a lot of coffee and extra strength Tylenol, Ziva, Abby, and the BAU crew met at the airport and waited for Emily's plane to land. It arrived in about half an hour later. As soon as the Interpol chief had disembarked, Garcia squealed and called out,

"Emily!" Emily broke into a huge grin and ran the rest of the way towards the group. Garcia hugged her first then JJ before the others had their turn. When it was Reid's turn Emily hugged him tightly before pulling back and saying,

"Hey handsome. I can't believe you'll be a married man tomorrow night."

"I still can't believe it myself. It's almost surreal." Reid replied.

"How do you think I feel? I never thought I'd marry. You're one of the few guys that isn't intimidated by me! I never thought that would happen. Guys usually run from me."

"Um, not all of them ran away from you Abby." Ziva reminded her. Abby shivered.

"Thanks, Ziva. Like I really needed to be reminded about that."

"What happened?" Garcia asked. Abby groaned and then replied,

"I'll tell you over lunch later. Just the girls?" Garcia nodded. Then it was Ziva's turn to hug Emily.

"Hey, how is London?"

"It's great so far. I mean I miss my family here...the team...but I love the job." Ziva smiled.

"Penelope told us that you called them in to work security at the Olympics."

"Events like that are one of the major perks of the job." Emily replied with a chuckle.

It was lunchtime then, and everyone was starving at this point. The men just grabbed a bite on the way home, but Ziva, Abby, Garcia, Emily, and JJ ,met in a Mexican place in downtown DC. Once they had given their orders, Garcia asked,

"So what happened a few years ago?" Abby sighed and told them about Michael Mawer and then moved on to Chip, the assistant that tried to kill her after using her to frame Tony, and then the creepy stalker that was obsessed with McGee's book.

"Luckily, Gibbs and the team were there just in time, every time." Abby finished up. Ziva smiled and squeezed Abby's shoulder.

"And we always will be."

"And now you have the entire BAU to protect you as well." JJ added.

"Thank you." Abby replied. Then the women moved on to other topics.

That evening, they all got dressed up and went to the rehearsal for the wedding. Ziva rehearsed her song and then the ceremony was rehearsed. After that, they all went to Abby's and Reid's favorite Italian place for the rehearsal dinner. Kyle, Blake and Emily met them there, but Luca wasn't going to be able to make it until the next day. Abby and Kyle would pick him up from the airport. While they were waiting on the food, Ducky and Rossi had an announcement.

"Dr. Mallard and I both wanted to do something special for Abby and Reid. So we spoke several times on the phone and also met for cards and this is what we finally came up with." Rossi began. Ducky then spoke up.

"Abigail, I know that you and Agent Reid had wanted to travel to Salem, Massachusetts for your honeymoon. I have here, two travel vouchers that will take you anywhere you go." Abby gasped but before she could speak, Rossi jumped in and added,

"And I have reserved you a hotel room in the Salem Waterfront hotel and suites. You two will be staying in the honeymoon suite" Abby could no longer contain herself and ran over to Rossi, then Ducky, hugging them both.

"Thank you guys SO much! You two are the best! This is going to be an amazing honeymoon!" Reid was a bit more reserved as he thanked the men. He stood back, but smiled genuinely as he said,

"Yes. Thanks Rossi. Thank you, Dr. Mallard. You didn't have to. But we appreciate it."

"You two are most welcome." Ducky replied. Rossi nodded, before grabbing the younger man and hugging him with a kiss on each cheek. The others laughed at his expense. Reid made a face but said nothing.

"We wanted to do it, to let you know that you are cared about." Emily then handed Abby a package.

"I didn't get back for the shower, but I found this in a shop in Ireland when I was on assignment. I thought of the two of you." Reid took the package from Abby and opened it before letting her take it from him. It was a beautiful wood plaque with a gold plate which had the Irish Wedding Blessing engraved on it.

"Emily, this is exquisite." Abby breathed, before going around to hug her friend. After pulling back, Emily responded,

"I wanted to give you two something meaningful for your new home." Reid hugged his friend and whispered,

"Thanks, Emily."

"You're welcome." was the reply. The food soon arrived and they all ate. After most of the others were gone, Gibbs stuck around and asked Abby and Reid to go out to his truck with him.

"I have a present for you two." The younger two agreed and were led to the truck which displayed a shape under a white sheet. Gibbs lifted the sheet and Abby's hands went to her mouth. Reid for his part looked like he had died and gone to heaven. Under the sheet was a beautiful bookshelf made out of cherry wood.

"Oh, Gibbs." Abby said in awe.

"Thank you, sir. This is incredible." Reid added.

"Don't call me sir." Gibbs ordered trying to hide his smile. Abby threw herself into her boss's arms and said,

"Thank you, Gibbs! Thank you, Thank you!"

"Glad you like it, Abbs. I hope you and Reid will be very happy together." Gibbs whispered in her ear before releasing her. Reid and Abby had gotten a condo in Quantico, but hadn't started moving in yet. Gibbs helped them make the book-shelf the first piece of furniture in the new place. The rest would happen after the honeymoon. After the shelf was set in place, Abby, Gibbs, and Reid each headed to their respective homes to rest up for the big day.

The next morning, Abby and her bridesmaids and man of honor headed out for a bridal party breakfast. The groomsmen and groomslady and groom were doing the same thing themselves. Henry was included in that as well. Afterwards, Abby picked up Kyle and together, they headed to the airport to meet Luca's plain. As soon as the two southern siblings caught sight of each other, both actually squealed. Then Luca swept his big sister into a huge hug.

"Luca! You're finally here!"

"I know! I can't believe you are getting married today! Where's Spencer? I was hoping to see him.

"You will. He's doing stuff to get ready for the wedding, but I'll take you by this afternoon. But for now, Luca, this is Kyle. My biological brother."

"Hi. I'm Luca." the younger man responded, shaking Kyle's hand.

"Nice to meet you. Any brother of Abby's..." Kyle trailed off, then pulled Luca into a hug. The southern man was surprised, but quickly recovered and hugged the older man back. Abby smiled at the two, then the group went to get Luca's bags and headed to the church.

"I'm working on a surprise for Spencer. His mom is in a mental hospital in Vegas. I'm working on a live feed for the wedding. She doesn't do too well with flying."

"That's so cool that you're doing that. How did you work it out?"

"McGee's meeting me at the church. He's gonna help set it up."

"He's your Man of Honor?" Luca asked.

"Yep."

"He's also and MIT graduate." Kyle added. Soon they were at the church and Abby lead her brothers inside to find McGee. It didn't take McGee long to figure out what they needed to do. He also fixed it so that Reid would be able to talk to his mother right before the ceremony and right after. Once that was taken care of, Abby took Luca to meet Reid. The genius grinned when he opened the door and saw his bride to be and her younger brother."

"Hello, Midnight Princess." Abby kissed her groom to be and then pulled back.

"Hey, Magic Man." Reid pulled away and turned to Luca.

"It's really nice to see you again. I'm glad you could fly in."

"I wouldn't have missed it. I'm really glad Abby's marrying you. I know you'll treat her right."

"You have nothing to be concerned about. I love your sister with all my heart."

"AWWWW! I love you, too!" Abby replied, snuggling up to Spencer. Luca stayed with Reid after that, and Abby left to get herself ready for the ceremony. She had a mani-pedi scheduled with Carol, JJ, Ziva ,Garcia, Breena, and Emily. Then the bridal party would head to the church.

"Ahhh. This is JUST what I needed." said Carol.

"Rough week?" Abby asked. Carol nodded.

"A really tough bio-terrorist case came to a head. We've been tracking the culprits for months. We finally got them earlier this week, but you wouldn't believe the paperwork. Finished that up right before the rehearsal dinner.

"Why didn't you say something last night?" Abby asked.

"Things were so crazy and busy. And at the bachelorette party I wanted to think of anything BUT work."

"I totally get that." Emily said.

"Where do you work, Carol?" asked Breena.

"State Department. That's the simple answer. I'm a scientist for the government and I work mostly bio-terrorist cases."

"WOW!" Garcia exclaimed.

"I worked for the State Department for a year. I'm glad to be back with the BAU."

"It can be stressful. But so are a lot of other jobs, too."

"You are correct." Ziva spoke up. Soon the subject was changed and the women tried to relax.

"So Abby? What song did you pick to dance to at the reception?" Breena asked. Abby smiled and replied,

"_Real Love_ from the Beatles Second Anthology." The others looked surprised.

"Reid wanted classical and I wanted hard rock. We compromised." Abby explained simply.

"That's an awesome compromise." Garcia assured her friend.

"Thanks. We thought so." was the reply.

About an hour later, they were getting ready at the church. Abby's nun friends came into the room at one point. Sister Angela gave Abby a beautiful baby blue garter which Abby slipped on her leg. Sister Isabella lent the bride her cross necklace to wear for the ceremony. Sister Josephina gave her a brand new silver bracelet with charms representing the life of Christ. Abby put it on right away. Sister Rosita saved hers for last. She led Abby over to the couch had her sit down with her. Then she took out a very worn Bible with several passages marked in it.

"This was my Bible when I was young. I have a new Bible now. I want you to have this one on your wedding day." Abby stared at the precious gift in shock. When she could finally speak, she stammered out,

"B-but...Sister Rosita. Are you sure? I can't take your special Bible." But the nun was firm and pressed the book into Abby's hands.

"You know, if I had chosen a different path... If God had led me to a husband and children...I would want my daughter to be just like you. Please take this. I very much wish for you to have it." Abby's eyes filled with tears and she nodded before hugging the older woman tightly, and whispering,

"Thank you. I'll take good care of it. I'll treasure it forever."

"You are most welcome, my dear. I have taken the liberty to mark several passages on love. I hope it will help you throughout your marriage."

"Thank you. I know it will. You are the best, Sister Rosita."

"As are you, dear Abigail. As are you." Then Abby finished getting ready. Within half an hour, Gibbs knocked on the door.

"Abbs? Ya decent?"

"Yeah! You can come in Gibbs!" Abby responded. Sister Rosita let the man in. JJ realized that she should go find the guys to get in her place and also spend some time with Reid. Abby said,

"JJ, wait! Take this to him. Make sure to turn it on. First part of Spencer's surprise. I can't let him see me before the wedding, but tell him I love him." JJ nodded and took the laptop without asking questions. After she left, Gibbs went over to Abby.

"It's almost time. Ya ready?"

"Yes sir!" Abby said with a salute."

"Abbs, don't call me sir. We've been over this." Abby got a mischievous gleam in her eye but before she could respond, Gibbs quickly added,

"And don't you dare call me 'ma'am' either." Abby snickered and said nothing else.

"I guess we better go find our places. McGee is probably already there." Ziva said. She and the other women gave Abby hugs and then walked out, leaving her alone with her father figure." After a bit of a pause, Abby said,

"Thank you for doing this for me, Gibbs. It really means so much to me." Gibbs looked her in the eye and said,

"Me too Abbs. I never thought I'd be doing this for a daughter." Abby teared up as she realized he was referring to the chance he would never have with Kelly. Then she hugged him tightly and said,

"Love you, Gibbs." Gibbs just held her more tightly before pulling back and signing his reply.

"Now, let's get you married. My Dad's out there, by the way."

"Jackson's here?! That's totally great! I didn't think he'd make it!"

"Well, you did send him an invitation. He really likes you. Thinks you're a breath of fresh air, whatever he means by that."

"Good. I like him, too." Gibbs and Abby then headed out to the foyer.

Meanwhile, down the hall, JJ had carried the laptop into Reid. When they turned it on, they discovered that it was set to a facetime. Looking back at them was a very happy Dianna Reid."

"Mom!"

"Hello, son. I wanted to speak with you before your wedding. I always knew that sometime, you would find a woman to take care of you for me. Abby is a really special lady and I can see how happy she makes you."

"I wish you could be here, Mom." Reid said, with tears in his eyes. JJ rubbed his back for a moment and then left to give the two some privacy.

"Ah but I will be, darling. Your bride saw to that. I'll be watching a live video of the wedding. I wish we could dance together at your reception though." Dianna said. Reid thought for a moment before saying,

"Maybe we can. Reid found a CD player in the room and then got his Bob Dylan CD out of his messenger bag. He turned the disc to _Times, They are a-Changing_. Then he picked up the laptop and 'danced' with his mother around the room. After the song was finished, Reid put the laptop down.

"Thank you, son. That meant a lot to me." Dianna admitted. Before he could respond there was a loud knock on the door and a voice called out,

"Pretty Boy?!"

"I'm in here Morgan. Come in." Morgan swung open the door and said,

"Hey kid! What are you doing? We gotta get out there. You don't want to miss your own wedding, do ya?"

"I'm coming, Morgan." Then turning back to the laptop, Reid added,

"I have to go, Mom. Enjoy the ceremony. I'll talk to you after along with Abby."

"I look forward to it. I love you, darling." Reid swallowed hard.

"I love you, too, Mom." Then he shut the laptop and headed out with Morgan.

The ceremony was beautiful. Reid was breathless as soon as he saw his bride coming towards him on the arm of Gibbs. Gibbs responded to the minister and then kissed Abby's hand before placing it in Reid's After the older man had taken his seat, Reid leaned in and whisper softly,

"Thank you. Thank you for making sure my Mom could be a part of this. It means so much to her. And to me."

"I love you, Spencer. I want to make you happy whenever I can." She replied back. The priest then started the ceremony. Abby and Reid said their vows and then the unity candle was lit by Abby's brothers. After that, Ziva came up to sing. Her rendition of the Bette Midler was phenomenal. Everyone was mesmerized. After that, it was finally time for exchanging the rings. Henry brought them over and handed them to the priest. Everything went smoothly until the priest pronounced them man and wife and said,

"You may now kiss the bride." then Henry let out a VERY loud,

"EEEEEEWWWW!" That got several chuckles from the guests, but it was a huge embarrassment for JJ and Will."

Then it was time for the exit. They exited two by two with the exception of Henry who led them all out. Abby and Reid went to speak with his mom again for a few moments before making their entrance in the reception hall. There were hugs all around as they mingled with everyone.

"JJ, Don't worry. Henry's only four. He didn't ruin the moment. He made it more memorable." Abby said reassuringly.

"Thanks for understanding, Abby."

They all talked and ate until it was time for the first dance for the newly-weds. Abby and Reid headed to the floor and Paul McCartney's voice rang out with the other Beatles. Everyone cheered when they'd finished. Then Abby signaled Gibbs over. It was time for the father/daughter dance. Just for Gibbs, Abby had chosen a John Denver song. It was called _For Baby_. Gibbs danced with her and then kissed her cheek.

"You look beautiful tonight, Abbs. Reid's a lucky man."

"I'm the lucky one." Abby said without hesitation. Gibbs pulled her close and then released her before going to sit down. Next was the cutting of the cakes. Abby had a beautiful white chocolate Victorian style cake. Reid's was chocolate and Dr. Who themed. When it was time for the garter and bouquet toss, all the single women except the nuns and all the single men except Gibbs and Rossi lined up.

:

"I'm not looking for wife number four now." Rossi said to Gibbs.

"Me either." Gibbs replied with a snort. It turned out that Henry caught the Garter, which made everyone laugh. The bouquet was caught by none other than Chief Erin Strauss. McGee then gave the man of honor speech.

"Well, I've known Abby about ten years now. I never thought she'd end up with a guy like Reid. I always pictured her with more of a James Dean type. But you guys found each other and it turned out to be the best thing that could happen to Abby. I love you, sis. Reid take good care of her. She's pretty special."

"I plan on doing just that, Tim." Reid promised. Abby jumped up and hugged her friend tightly.

"I love you, too, McGee. Thank you for those amazingly beautiful words." Pulling away, Abby sat back down next to Reid as Morgan spoke.

"Pretty Boy, You've always been like a brother to me. I really never thought you'd ever find someone and settle down. You've always been somewhat of a loner. Content with books and magic. Abby changed all that. She came into your life and you lit up more than I'd ever seen before. I am so happy for you, kid. And for you Abby. You've got yourself a wonderful guy. Don't ever take each other for granted. I love you guys."

"We love you, too, Morgan." Reid admitted. Then he and Abby got up and hugged big brother close. After a few more speeches from friends and family, Abby and Reid went to change into their travel clothes. While they were gone, everyone got their birdseed ready. JJ explained to Henry what to do with it.

"You mean like when you and Daddy got married last year and then I stayed with Grandma?"

"Yes. Exactly like that." After about twenty minutes, Abby and Reid returned and hugged and kissed all their friends and family before running to the car in a shower of birdseed. Once in the limo, they waved out the window and calls of

"Have fun! See you soon! We love you!" rang out. When they were no longer within earshot or sight of their loved ones, Abby and Reid snuggled together and enjoyed the trip to the hotel. The next day they would leave on their dream honeymoon. Tonight, they were just going to enjoy their first day of the rest of their lives.

**Well, only one chapter left after this. Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed the wedding and other fun things. final chapter, the epilogue will be posted on Wednesday. Have a great day tomorrow! New chapter of My Love, My One and Only will hopefully be up then. Catch ya later! Bye!**


	22. Chapter 22

**Well, here is the final chapter of this story. Hope you enjoy it. For the purposes of this story, Ziva has already left, but still keeps in sporadic touch with the team. At least they are able to contact her. She still rarely responds, but for this time, she will. Please read and review. Thanks!**

A year went by. During that time, there was a lot of heartache. Chief Strauss was killed by a man with a vendetta against the BAU. Gibbs was investigated by a very vindictive prosecutor who was determined to bring the team leader down. As a result of that and a run in she had with an old friend, Ziva took off f for Israel and went off the grid. Tony had gone after her and eventually found her, but sadly, returned after two months without her. She had barely spoken to any of them since then. Palmer and Breena applied to adopt a baby, but at the last minute, the birth mother changed her mind. The Palmers were devastated, and the team was devastated for them. Still, mixed in with the heartache was joy. Not long after Palmer and Breena's heartbreaking experience, Abby found out that she and Reid were expecting. She announced it to her team at work and Reid announced to his.

"Way to go [retty boy!" Morgan said. JJ gave Reid a big hug and said,

"You're going to make a great dad, Spence."

"Absolutely! And between this team and Goth Wizard's team, you are going to have a lot of baby-sitters to choose from." Garcia added, hugging her friend.

"I'll keep that in mind." Reid said. Then he received hugs and congratulations from the others.

Meanwhile, at NCIS, Abby had called everyone up to the squad-room. When everyone, including Palmer and Ducky, was gathered, Gibbs looked at Abby and said,

"So what's going on, Abbs? What'd you need to tell us that couldn't wait?"

"Well, you know I hadn't been feeling too well." the others nodded. Abby had been feeling sick for several weeks and they were all concerned for her.

"Well, I went to the doctor yesterday."

"So what's going on? Is everything alright, Abbs?" asked the newest team member, Eleanor Bishop. Abby practically jumped up and down as she confirmed,

"It's better than alright! I'm pregnant!" Bishop, McGee, Tony, and Palmer let out loud cheers. McGee was the first to hug Abby, followed by the other three. Ducky then came up and pulled the Goth into a hug and said,

"Congratulations, my dear. I am certain that you will be a most wonderful mother." Abby hugged the man back tightly.

"Awww! Thank you, Ducky. I expect you to provide my child with tons of exciting and fascinating stories."

"I would be happy to." Ducky replied. After he stepped back, Gibbs moved forward without a word and pulled Abby in tight. Abby melted into the hug.

"I want you to be a big part of baby Reid's life, Gibbs. He or she will need a grandpa. William Reid isn't in the picture and from what I know of him, he is NOT a man I would want anywhere NEAR my kid. You're practically my dad. That automatically makes you Grandpa Gibbs to any kids I have."

"I'd like that, Abbs." Gibbs replied simply.

"So what about us? Do I get to be Uncle Tony?"

"Of course, Tony. And Tim and Jimmy. And Bishop will be Aunt Ellie. This baby is going to be SO incredibly loved! There's the BAU team as well."

"Ms. Sciuto. Be sure to let me know when you can no longer work." Abby spun around, startled. She hadn't heard the director approach.

"Oh, I'm still going to be working right up until my due date, unless the baby comes early. And as soon as my maternity leave is over, I'm coming back."

"You need to look into what kind of chemicals it's not safe for you to be around." Abby smiled and assured her boss,

"Already done, sir. I'll bring in somebody to work with the stuff I can't be around whenever it's necessary."

"That's all I ask. Thank you." With that, Vance headed back to his office. The rest of the group quickly got back to work.

Over the next few months Abby and Reid prepared to be parents. They had chosen purple and silver for the room colors. They started setting things up before finding out the gender and just used gender neutral items. Before they knew it, it was time to find out the gender of the baby. Abby and Reid took off from work to both be at the appointment. The doctor did the ultra-sound and immediately found something strange. The look on her face made the parents to be uncomfortable.

"What's going on? Is something wrong with the baby?" Abby demanded in a shaky voice. Reid took her hand but remained silent. The doctor smiled at them.

"Nope. Nothing wrong with baby, except it's babies. There are two of them in there!"

"WHAT?!" Reid and Abby exclaimed simultaneously. The doctor chuckled.

"You heard correctly. You two are having twins." Reid suddenly felt very dizzy. The nurse noticed this and led Reid to a chair.

"I'm going to be a father to two babies?" He asked in disbelief. Abby nodded, frantically.

"That's what she just said, Spencer! And I'm going to be the mother of twins!"

"We are going to need more of everything! We aren't prepared for twins!" was Reid's response. Abby grabbed her husband by the shoulders and all but shouted,

"You're telling me! We need another bed and another baby swing and another rocking chair so we can rock both of them at once! We're also going to need more clothes! And blankets and..."

"Calm down, you two. You still have four months." The doctor interrupted Abby's rambling. Abby and Reid took deep breaths and calmed themselves.

"Sorry, Dr. Reilly." Reid said. The doctor smiled.

"Don't be. I get it. You're overwhelmed. But you'll get through this. Now do you want to know the genders?"

"Yes! Definitely!" Abby responded. Dr. Reilly turned the screen so the couple could see. Abby teared up at the sight and Reid got misty as well.

"That's our daughter." Reid whispered in awe.

"And our other daughter." Abby added, hoarsely.

"Congratulations, both of you." the doctor spoke up.

"Thank you, Dr. Reilly." Abby replied. Soon it was time for them to leave. Reid called his mom on the way back to work to tell her the news. Texts were sent to Emily and Ziva, as well as to Abby's brothers. Then they each told their teams the news once they were back to work. Everyone was so excited for the couple. Penelope ,JJ, and Bishop planned a baby shower for Abby. Among the guests were Alex Blake, Breena Palmer, and McGee's girlfriend, Delilah. Abby received some pretty amazing presents.

Penelope gave Abby a dozen outfits for each baby. From Delilah there were two mobiles to hang above the cribs. They had shapes hanging from them. From Bishop there were two stuffed hippos that played _You Are My Sunshine_. One was lavender and the other was sea green. Breena provided a baby bathtub. JJ gave Abby a couple of CDs of children's songs. One was lullabies and the other had more upbeat songs. Henry had helped pick them out. Blake supplied some diapers and sleepers. Breena also provided diapers as well as a sound machine for the babies' room. Ziva had actually mailed gifts for the babies. Abby had received a box that included two Hasma teething rings and a door hanger with a special Hasma blessing for new babies on it. There had been a note that said simply,

Keep your children safe and close, Abby. Cherish them always. -Z

Abby had tried to reach out and thank her friend, but had not been able to get hold of her. Besides the gift in the mail from Ziva, there had been one from Emily. She had sent several books by the author, Sandra Boynton. Dianna Reid had knitted two beautiful blankets for her grandchildren. One was lavender and sea- green and the other was blue and pale orange. The men gave gifts as well. Tony got the babies some stacking rings, McGee gave the babies each a busy box, Ducky gave the babies each a cloth book, and Vance picked out some rubber bath toys. Rossi gave the babies savings bonds for college later on, and two stuffed toys, a dog and a teddy bear. Morgan chose some bibs. Hotch supplied two stuffed animals, a pig, and a duck, that Jack had chosen. Even Director Vance also got some diapers, knowing that you could never have too many of those. Gibbs' gifts touched Abby the most. He had come over to her place one day to deliver them. He had built each of the babies their own shelf for the room.

"When you name the babies, Abbs, I'm gonna come over and paint the names on the shelves."

"Oh, Gibbs! These are so beautiful! They're perfect! Thank you so much!" Abby couldn't hold the tears back. Darned hormones. She didn't care though. She threw her arms around the older man and buried her face in his shoulder. Then she pulled back and Gibbs kissed her forehead.

"You're gonna be a terrific mom, Abbs."

"Thank you." she replied softly, with a smile.

Abby got more and more pregnant as time went by. She had her days where the team was walking on eggshells around her in case they might trigger an emotional outburst, but all in all, the pregnancy was going smoothly. Then, one day, about four months after the shower, Abby was working in her lab, when she suddenly felt a sharp pain.

"Ouch!" she cried. She got through the pain and kept on working. About ten minutes later, there was another sharp pain. Abby moved on from it as well. When it happened a third time, Abby cried out loudly. She then realized that she might be in labor. She called Gibbs who answered quickly.

"Gibbs Gibbs Gibbs!"

"Yeah, Abbs! You got something?" Abby breathed through another pain before responding.

"Uh, yeah. A baby on the way. Gibbs? I think I'm in labor!"

"Be right there!" Was the quick reply. Then he hung up and turned to the team.

"Bishop, with me! McGee call Ducky."

"What's going on, Boss?" Tony questioned.

"Abbs' in labor!" Gibbs called as he and Bishop got in the elevator. Down in Abby's lab, Ducky was already there.

"That's it, my dear. Just breathe through it. We'll get you to the hospital as quickly as possible."

"Abbs!" Gibbs called out."

"In here, Gibbs!" They found her and Ducky in her office. Gibbs and Bishop helped Abby stand and half carried her out of the lab.

"Keep us posted, Jethro!" Ducky called after him.

"Will do, Duck!" Gibbs replied.

"Wait! I need to call Spencer! I need him there with me!" Abby exclaimed.

"Call 'im on the way." Gibbs ordered. Abby did that and Reid met the group at the hospital. Abby and Reid were taken to a delivery room, while Gibbs, Bishop, Morgan and JJ sat in the waiting room. After a while, the others started arriving. It was a very full waiting room. In the delivery room, Reid was helping his wife through her labor.

"You're doing great, Midnight Princess."

"It's almost time to push." encouraged Dr. Reilly. Abby nodded as she was in the middle of another huge contraction.

"Ok. On the next contraction, I want you to push as hard as you can." the doctor said.

"Ok." Abby whimpered. The next contraction came about six minutes later and Abby pushed with all her might. It took three big pushes to deliver the first baby."

"It's a girl!" The doctor said, before cutting the chord and handing the baby to the nurse.

"Oooh! Here comes the next contraction!" Abby called out.

"Ok. Just push when the doctor tells you." encouraged Reid.

"Alright, Abby, It's time to bring that little girl's sister into the world. Time to push again." The doctor said, after Abby had rested for a few minutes. Abby pushed and pushed, and finally second little girl Reid made her appearance. Abby burst into relieved tears when she heard her baby girl screaming her lungs out, along with her sister. The adrenaline that had been keeping her focused on getting both babies into the world was finally spent. Reid's eyes filled with tears as well, as he gazed at his two beautiful children. He kissed his wife and she rested against him. After simply staring at these precious gifts that God had entrusted them with for several moments, Abby looked up at her husband and asked,

"Babes? Could you go update everyone, and get them to come in here? I want them to meet the newest members of the family."

"Are you sure you don't want to rest first?" Reid asked, uncertainly.

"I'll rest later. I really need to see our family now." Reid finally agreed and kissed Abby again before heading out to the waiting room. He looked around and noticed that more had arrived, Including Abby's brother Kyle.

"I'm supposed to keep Luca posted." Kyle informed Reid. Reid grinned widely.

"Well, you may tell him that he has two nieces."

"YAAAAY!" the cheer rang out from everyone in the room.

"Abby is exhausted but she still wants to see all of you. Where's JJ?" Reid said, suddenly realizing she was missing.

"She took the boys to the gift shop. They each wanted to pick out something to give to the babies in the hospital. I'll text her. She won't want to miss this!" Garcia answered. The text was sent and soon a ding was heard. Garcia looked at her phone and said,

"They're on their way back." About five minutes later, JJ came in with two very excited little boys. Henry was holding a plush rattle shaped like an elephant and Jack had one shaped like a giraffe.

"Can we see the babies now?" Jack blurted out.

"Yeah! Can we?" Henry added.

"You bet. We can only stay a very short time. Aunt Abby is exhausted and there are a lot of us." JJ warned her son and his friend.

"AWW!" the boys said together.

"You can still give her your presents." Hotch reassured them.

"Right. And I know the babies will love them." Reid said with a smile.

The group then headed down to the room that Abby was in. The nurse was just bringing back the babies.

"Hey guys!" Abby said softly but happily. Everyone came forward for hugs, and then the two young boys went up to the bed and handed Abby the rattles.

"Wow! These are so cool, guys! The babies will absolutely love them. Thank you so much!"

"You're welcome!" The two replied.

"So you two. Did you decide on names yet?" Rossi asked.

"Actually, yes." Reid picked up a twin and handed her to Morgan.

"This is our daughter, Jacinda Elle Reid. We're calling her Jacey."

"After Gideon." Rossi immediately figured out.

"And Elle." Garcia added in a quiet tone. Reid nodded. Then he picked up Jacey's sister and handed her to Gibbs. The man practically melted. Not even the tough as nails Leroy Jethro Gibbs could resist a baby.

"Gibbs, you are holding Caitlyn Gloria Reid."

"You named her after your mom." Gibbs observed.

"And Kate." Tony murmured.

"Exactly." Abby said softly, her eyes tearing. Soon, the babies began making the rounds. Abby took this opportunity to send the picture she had taken earlier to Emily, Luca, and Ziva. She also sent one to Dr. Norman to show Dianna. First response was from Luca.

_Congrats, Sis! I can't wait to meet my nieces!_

Emily answered not long after.

_WOW! Congratulations, you two. The girls are so beautiful. Hope to get back to the states for a visit soon. XO! -E_

There wasn't a response from Ziva at that time. Soon the nurse came in and said there were WAY too many people in the room. After she left, the group started to disperse. Abby hugged everyone and thanked them for coming. The babies were taken back to the nursery, so that Abby could rest. Suddenly, Abby heard her phone ping. Reid handed to her, and what she saw made her smile.

_"Mazal Tov, Abby. They are precious. -Z_

Reid took the phone and put it on the bedside table. Then he crawled up on the bed with Abby and kissed her before holding her in his arms. They drifted off to sleep together, thinking about how blessed they really were. They couldn't ask for a better family.

**That's all, folks! Thank you to all who read and reviewed! Thanks to misspatchesmom for editing! Catch ya guys later!**


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